Serbian and Kosovan authorities signed a deal Tuesday to resume commercial flights between Belgrade and Pristina for the first time in more than two decades, officials said.
POLITICO reports that senior officials hailed the move as an important step in normalising relations between governments in Kosovo and Serbia, which were on opposite sides of the 1998-99 Kosovo war.
Kosovan President Hashim Thaçi said that “This is an important step for the movement of citizens & normalization process,” through a message on Twitter.
POLITICO adds that the route is to be served by Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. The launch date has not yet been set, however a company spokesperson said that there will be “several frequencies per week.” The company also stressed that “a whole series of commercial, organizational and legal questions are still open, which must be coordinated and clarified in the next steps.” The route is currently served only by bus, taking more than six hours to get from city to city.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the announcement is “an important step which will make the circulation of people and goods easier and faster within the Wester Balkans region.”
Via POLITICO
