Transavia France is cancelling its planned route between Paris Orly and the Serbian capital Belgrade. Although the airline cites ‘internal matters’ as an official reason, the actual cause appears to differ slightly.
The problem reportedly arose concerning the refueling of Transavia’s aircraft at Belgrade Airport. Belgrade Airport’s fuel supplier, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), is owned by Russian companies for more than fifty percent. The United States still has sanctions in place for companies with a majority Russian shareholder.
NIS has got various shareholders, including the Russian company Gazprom Neft, which holds fifty percent of the shares. The remaining shares are divided as follows: 6.15 percent is held by Russian company Gazprom, 29.87 percent by the Serbian state, and the remaining 13.98 percent is distributed among smaller shareholders. The anticipated sanctions were initially set to be put into effect in February, but the US government postponed this measure until the end of April.
Launch
Transavia had intended to launch the new route starting in April. However, due to issues surrounding the facilities at Belgrade Airport, the budget carrier postponed its first flight to Belgrade until July. It now turns out that the route has been completely cancelled and will not return for the time being. The original plan included two weekly flights, and the first passengers had already booked tickets.
Unusual
Discontinuing a route is not unusual in itself and happens regularly for various reasons. However, Transavia’s decision is remarkable, especially considering that it is not the first airline to face these challenges.
Eastern European budget carrier Wizz Air is experiencing similar problems and is now refuelling elsewhere. Since January of this year, the airline has stationed several of its Airbus A321neos in the Serbian capital, after which swift action had to be taken. These aircraft are currently refuelling in locations including Budapest (Hungary) and Timișoara (Romania). Though, this has no further impact on the flight schedule.