British Airways will restore operations between London Heathrow and Belgrade after thirteen years this coming winter season. The British flag carrier will launch flights between the two capital cities on October 31 with a three weekly service, each Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, maintained by its Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline will compete directly against Air Serbia on the route, which runs a daily rotation, as well as indirectly against Wizz Air. The budget carrier serves Belgrade from London Luton and will maintain five weekly flights between the two this coming winter. British Airways will become only the second member carrier of the Oneworld alliance to serve Belgrade, alongside Qatar Airways.

British Airways last served Belgrade in November 2010. It operated its last service on the route on November 30 of that year. Back then, it maintained operations to the Serbian capital on a daily basis with a mix of A319 and A320 aircraft. However, back then, the British flag carrier said the flights had become unprofitable amidst wide-ranging cost cutting measures after the global financial crisis hit the aviation sector. It also faced strong competition from both Jat Airways and Wizz Air at the time.

During the January – May period, Air Serbia handled 28.981 passengers on its flights between Belgrade and London Heathrow. On the other hand, Wizz Air welcomed 39.974 travellers on its service between the Serbian capital and London Luton. British Airways aims to attract both point-to-point, as well as transfer traffic on the new service, particularly those connecting to and from the United States and Canada. Serbian passport holders require a Direct Airside Transit visa to catch connecting flights at Heathrow with exception to those in possession of a visa for Canada, New Zealand, Australia or the US, which can be used in lieu of the transit visa for travel to any country.

Flight details for British Airways’ new London Heathrow – Belgrade service can be found here. Tickets are now available for purchase through the airline’s website.