On September 30 at 18:41, flight JU988 from Air Serbia successfully landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, marking the airline's inaugural flight on the Belgrade-Guangzhou route. The airport welcomed the arrival of Air Serbia with the highest honor in civil aviation, the "water salute." This new route is expected to greatly facilitate economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and people-to-people connections between China and Serbia.
(Photo: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport)
Air Serbia plans to operate two round-trip flights weekly, on Mondays and Fridays, with a one-way flight time of approximately 12 hours. Flight JU988 departs from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport at 00:50 and arrives in Guangzhou at 17:10; the return flight, JU989, departs Guangzhou at 22:10 and arrives in Belgrade the next day at 04:30 (local time).
(Photo: Pan Jiajun)
Following the flight's arrival, a welcome ceremony was held at the Sky Stage in Terminal 2. Ms. Jelena Nikolic, Minister-Counselor of the Serbian Embassy in China, read a congratulatory letter from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the ceremony. In his letter, President Vucic expressed his congratulations on the success of the inaugural flight and conveyed high hopes for this new route, which symbolizes the friendship and aspirations of the two nations. He emphasized that the long-standing friendship between Serbia and China nurtured through mutual efforts, would make this inaugural flight a starting point for a new chapter in the countries' cooperative relationship, laying a solid foundation for a closer community of shared destiny.
(Photo: Pan Jiajun)
Mr. Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia, highlighted that the new route marks an important milestone in the airline's development and is a concrete manifestation of the deepening relationship between Serbia and China. "We consider this direct flight as a kind of gift to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China."
The inaugural flight JU989 from Guangzhou to Belgrade on September 30 carried 267 passengers, primarily tourists and business travelers.
The Belgrade-Guangzhou route is the 19th international passenger route launched at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport this year and is the second direct flight to Eastern Europe, following the Guangzhou-Budapest route established in June. By the end of September, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport had around 80 airlines operating regularly, with over 240 domestic and international destinations, covering five continents and connecting nearly 100 international and regional destinations with more than 1,700 international and regional passenger flights weekly.
In the future, the airport plans to launch new routes to Subang, Malaysia, and Nagoya, Japan, and restore international routes to Christchurch, Adelaide, and Perth.
Reporter: Eastbrook
Video: Pan Jiajun
Photo: Pan Jiajun
Editor: Nan, Monica, James
