Air Serbia increases the number of flights between Budapest and Belgrade to 17 per week, reports Еuractiv.

The company, which decided not to leave the Russian market after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2024, did so in response to the wishes of Russians who want to reach the EU and use Budapest as a point of entry.

Air Serbia, which is majority owned by the state, offers passengers convenient connections with transfers in Belgrade to other countries in the region, as well as Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and the United States.

Since Serbia has not imposed sanctions against Russia, and Air Serbia continues to operate regular flights to four cities in Russia, Russians can take advantage of this offer.

Russian airlines can fly inside Serbia, but cannot fly outside of it, as it is surrounded by countries that have imposed sanctions.

Direct flights from Budapest to Russian destinations were popular even before the start of the war in Ukraine. After the outbreak of the war, the Hungarian airline Wizz Air constantly increased the number of bookings for these flights..

Serbian Minister of Economy Rade Basta called for the introduction of restrictive measures by his state against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. According to the politician, Serbia pays a significant price for the lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which is already "

Pro-Russian Serbia, meanwhile, has become a haven for Russian diplomats expelled from the EU countries: according to a journalistic investigation, at least eight former employees of European diplomatic departments have found jobs in Serbia.