BELGRADE, SERBIA (AP) – AirSerbia will go back to one flight a day to Moscow, the Serbian president said, following criticism that the country’s national carrier is busting a European Union-wide ban on flights to Russia and profiting from the war in Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion started over two weeks ago, AirSerbia has doubled the number of flights to the Russian capital and introduced larger aircraft to increase the number of seats for what has become its most profitable destination.
Beside some Turkish carriers, Serbia’s airline is the only European company that has kept on flying to Russia since the international flight ban was announced after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That triggered criticism from both the European Union (EU) and Ukraine.
“Serbia is the only one in Europe with an open sky to Russia,” Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar tweeted. “Making money on (Ukrainian) blood is unworthy of an EU candidate country.”
Serbia’s populist president Aleksandar Vucic said AirSerbia will go back to one flight to Moscow a day following “the witch hunt” against his country.
“And will those who are leading the chase against Serbia in connection with the flights to the capital of Russia be satisfied with that?” Vucic asked during a TV interview yesterday.
