Air Serbia gains approval to operate Shanghai flights via Russian airspace
May 28, 2025
Air Serbia has secured the green light to begin using the Trans-Siberian corridor through Russian airspace for flights between Belgrade and Shanghai, marking a significant step forward for the airline’s long-haul operations to East Asia.
The approval came through a formal exchange between Serbia’s aviation regulator and Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya.
Official documents published on Rosaviatsiya’s website confirm that the Russian Ministry of Transport has agreed to amend the bilateral air services agreement to include Shanghai as a designated waypoint on the route schedule.
Until now, Air Serbia’s flight path from Belgrade to Shanghai has avoided Russian airspace entirely, taking a longer route through Bulgaria, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.
According to data from flight tracking service Flightradar24, this detour results in flight times of nearly eleven hours.
With access to the more direct Trans-Siberian route, Air Serbia will benefit from reduced flight times and lower fuel costs.
While the airline has not yet confirmed when it will begin operating the new routing, the development marks a return amid ongoing geopolitical turbulence.
