Royal Jordanian Airlines is delaying the launch of its new service between Amman and Belgrade. Initially scheduled to commence on April 1, the route will now begin on April 25. Although Jordan’s airspace has reopened following several brief closures, security concerns persist. Over the past week, Iran has launched 85 missiles and drones toward Jordan. Jordanian air defences intercepted 79 of them, while five drones and one missile fell within the country’s territory. Civil defence teams and police responded to 93 reports of falling debris. Royal Jordanian has primarily targeted the new Belgrade service at leisure travellers from Serbia and is cooperating with several tour operators in the country to stimulate demand on the route.

Qatar Airways has released its revised flight schedule through March 28, with the airline not planning to operate services to either Belgrade or Zagreb during this period. Bucharest will remain the only destination in the wider region to be served. Meanwhile, a Qatar Airways Airbus A320, registered A7-AHT, remains grounded in Belgrade. The aircraft arrived on February 28, when the conflict in the Middle East escalated, and has remained at the airport since. The airline had planned to operate five weekly flights to the Serbian capital and a daily service to Zagreb throughout March.

Flydubai continues to maintain scheduled services to Belgrade, Ljubljana, Sarajevo and Zagreb, although the carrier has significantly reduced its operations. Prior to the conflict, Flydubai had planned to operate 35 weekly flights to the region in March, including seventeen weekly rotations to Belgrade, daily services to Ljubljana and Zagreb, and four weekly flights to Sarajevo. The schedule has now been scaled back to daily operations to Belgrade, four weekly to Zagreb, three weekly to Sarajevo and two weekly services to Ljubljana. On outbound flights from the former Yugoslav capitals, the airline is said to be carrying only a handful of passengers per flight.

Operations between Israel and markets in the former Yugoslavia remain suspended. Due to guidelines issued by security authorities and operational restrictions currently in place at Tel Aviv Airport, the El Al Group, which includes its leisure brand Sun d’Or, is currently operating at only 20% of its usual flight capacity. As a result, around 80% of air operations remain inactive. Consequently, Sun d’Or’s two weekly flights to Belgrade and Podgorica are presently suspended. However, the airline’s planned new services to Zagreb and Dubrovnik, which are scheduled to launch in late May, remain in the timetable for the time being.

The duration of the ongoing conflict and its impact on the Gulf states remain uncertain. Even if the war were to end by the close of the month, its broader effect on travel trends this summer is still unclear. Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “We are currently seeing a certain spike in bookings. Every crisis brings opportunities, and it depends on how quickly you react. The key question is whether this is a short-term surge in demand or a longer-term shift. At the moment, no one has a clear position or vision”.

How the war will impact travel demand from the Middle East this upcoming summer also remains uncertain. This could have a particular effect on Sarajevo Airport, which during the summer months is the region’s best-connected airport to the Middle East and relies on a significant number of flights from the region. While services from Saudi Arabia, a key market for Bosnia and Herzegovina, remain unaffected for the time being, other markets such as Kuwait remain closed. During the summer season, the airport normally handles up to fifteen weekly flights from the Gulf state alone.