Transavia France has cancelled plans to launch flights between Paris Orly and Belgrade this summer season. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier confirmed the cancellation, citing “internal reasons”. Services were due to commence in July and run twice per week. Ticket sales have now been discontinued. As EX-YU Aviation News learns from other sources, the airline had initially delayed the service launch from April until July and eventually cancelled the flights due to concerns over refuelling at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The fuel provider, NIS, is under threat from US-imposed sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector.
NIS, as Serbia’s largest energy company and Belgrade Airport’s sole fuel provider, is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft (50%) and Gazprom (6.15%), while 29.87% of the shares are owned by the Serbian government. As a result, it was due to be sanctioned in late February. However, the United States has delayed the imposition of sanctions until April 28 noting the measures are not aimed at Serbia but at Russian entities. Despite this, NIS is facing numerous difficulties because of the impending restrictions, which could be averted in the case of an ownership change. Refuelling at Belgrade Airport has been unaffected after a workaround was found to avoid direct purchase of fuel from NIS, however, the ongoing arrangements have left some airlines uneasy.
Flights between Belgrade and Paris are currently operated by Air Serbia and Wizz Air, serving Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports respectively. In 2024, Air Serbia carried 193.500 passengers on its Paris route, while Wizz Air transported 88.903 travellers on the Belgrade – Beauvais service. Combined, a total of 282.403 passengers flew between the Serbian capital and the two Parisian airports last year.