Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf) will launch scheduled direct passenger flights between Belgrade Nikola Tesla and Pristina, 22 years after a bitter conflict between Serbia and Kosovo halted them.
"I welcome the Letter Of Intent between Kosovo and Lufthansa to open an air route between Pristina and Belgrade. This is an important step for the movement of citizens and normalization process. Grateful to [US] National Security Advisor [Robert] O'Brien and [US Ambassador to Gerrmany] Richard Grenell for facilitating the process," Kosovo's president, Hashim Thaci, tweeted following the LOI's signing in Berlin.
Grenell was appointed Special Envoy for talks between Serbia and Kosovo by US President Donald Trump.
No details were revealed as to the launch date for the flights or the schedule. Eurowings did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
Reuters cited the head of the Serbian government office for Kosovo Marko Djuric as saying that the flights will launch only when the government of Kosovo lifts a 100% tariff on all Serbian goods imposed in 2018. The duty is expected to be removed once Kosovo's new government is formed, a process that has been underway since the October 2019 elections.
Flights between Belgrade and Pristina, then still part of the Serbia and Montenegro, were interrupted in 1998 when clashes erupted between Kosovar insurgents, seeking independence, and Serbian forces. Kosovo eventually declared independence in 2008 and is today recognised by over 100 UN Member States. Serbia, however, refuses to recognise Kosovo as an independent state and continues to treat it as a part of the country.
"I welcome the intention by Eurowings and the Lufthansa Group to establish direct flights between Belgrade and Pristina, based on the letters of intent signed today in Berlin. This is an important step, which will make the circulation of people and goods easier and faster within the Western Balkans region," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
NATO's KFOR mission controls the airspace over Kosovo.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucič welcomed the deal but added that Air Serbia (JU, Belgrade Nikola Tesla) could not operate the route as it would then have to recognise airspace over Kosovo as not being under Serbian control, Serbia's N1 TV channel said.
According to the ch-aviation capacities module, Eurowings is already the largest carrier at Pristina airport with a 25.3% market share by capacity. Lufthansa Group members Swiss and Austrian Airlines also serve the airport. However, the LCC does not currently serve Belgrade.
