The fact that Etihad Airways wants to “get out” of Air Serbia has been an open secret since the collapse of the “Etihad Partners alliance”. The state carrier from Abu Dhabi has already created the first facts, because the Belgrade route is being discontinued and the codeshare agreement has also been terminated. Now China has turned its attention to Air Serbia.

According to Serbian media reports, an affiliate of the Chinese government is in negotiations with Etihad Airways, but also with the Serbian government. The aim of this is to sell the 49 percent stake currently held by the carrier from Abu Dhabi.

In Serbia one has high expectations for the entry of the Chinese, because one particularly hopes for increased incoming tourism. Of course, you think long-term and mean the time after the corona pandemic. At the moment, the information situation is a little confused, because there is talk of the participation either from a state holding company, which in turn could be bought by one of the three state-owned airlines in China, or that one of the three airlines is taking a direct stake.

If the negotiations come to a positive conclusion, Air Serbia is to cooperate with a Chinese airline in the future. Basically, this is supposed to improve what Etihad Airways has done so far more or less half-heartedly. It is also hoped that Serbia will gain access to new aircraft. In China, people are also thinking that Air Serbia could be equipped with machines from Chinese production. This is how you create a presence on the European market. The further development remains to be seen, however, as the negotiations are still at a very early stage.