U FOKUSU / IN FOCUS 14 | Er Srbija » Air Serbia We’re currently planning to adddozen newdestinations in 2023. At the same time, we’ve started considering long-haul flights to certain exotic destinations WITH THE NUMBER OF CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS plummeting, the aviation industry faced dramatically increased demand this year. In parallel with that trend, various factors have led to staff shortages at airports, resulting in massive crowds, extended waiting times and delays. Here Air Serbia CEO Jiří Marek discusses the ways Air Serbia is dealing with the problems currently hampering the industry, the national airline’s role at the height of the pandemic and the results achieved by the company over the last two years despite all the challenges, but also future plans. “In accordance with the circumstances, we’re no longer able to stick to long-term plans, rather we monitor our network on a daily basis and adjust it for the next few months. This flexibility enables us to respond, i.e., to increase or decrease capacities, as we have sufficient personnel. When it comes to flight cancellations, the level was below 0.3% of the total number of flights in July, which is significantly below the great majority of airlines.” You practically arrived at Air Serbia just before the outbreak of the pandemic, which dealt a serious blow to the regular operations of the aviation industry. What were the worst-case scenarios that crossed your mind at that moment? WE ARE PLANNING A DOZEN NEW DESTINATIONS IN 2023 A I R SE R B I A CEO J I Ř Í MAR E K
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