United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based low-cost carrier Flydubai is to introduce a four times weekly link between Dubai and the Serbian capital Belgrade from November 10. Belgrade will be the airline’s 46th addition to its expanding route network, which spans the GCC, Middle East, North Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and Asia and this now represents further expansion at the fringes of Europe.

“We are committed to opening up routes previously underserved by direct UAE air links and are proud to become the first airline to operate direct services into Belgrade from Dubai,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, Flydubai. “We anticipate a strong demand for flights, both from the Serbian community in the UAE as well as travellers looking for a low-cost link into one of the most dynamic cities in the world.”

One of the world's leading cultural and party capitals, Belgrade, otherwise known as Serbia's White City, is an established tourist hub in its own right and is known for its rich music, sports, architecture, nightlife, arts, and cultural scenes. Belgrade currently hosts a number of international festivals including FEST (Belgrade Film Festival), BITEF (Belgrade Theatre Festival), BELEF (Belgrade Summer Festival), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival) and Belgrade Book Fair and has built one of the most interesting cityscapes in Europe with architectural styles ranging from Soviet to gothic.

“Serbia has taken numerous steps to develop its travel and tourism potential in recent years, including visa liberalisation and open skies policies,” explained Al Ghaith. “The subsequent entry of a number of European low-cost airlines has led to an influx of European travellers to the region and we fully expect the launch of our services to Belgrade to have the same effect here in the UAE.”

Serbia has a strong presence in the UAE thanks to a 5,000-strong Serbian expatriate population. One of the first established expat communities in UAE, Serbs have played an important role in the growth of the UAE and have made major contributions to the country's engineering, construction, hospitality, health, sports and airline industries. An estimated 28,000 O&D passengers travelled between Serbia and the UAE in the past year, with around 17,000 travelling between Belgrade and Dubai. JAT Airways currently serves the route on a four times weekly basis via Larnaca, although there are also relatively strong tourist flows with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul and Austrian Airlines via Vienna.