The government temporarily canceled visas for citizens of Saudi Arabia during the summer tourist season, but the announced bringing of the Saudi low-cost airline Flynas to Montenegro via regular seasonal flights on the Riyadh-Tivat route and thus opening a new tourist market for our hoteliers and restaurateurs in Saudi Arabia completely has backfired and nothing will come of it for this summer, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The company was supposed to fly from June 1 to September 30, and temporary visa liberalization applies to that period.
From the Airport of Montenegro (ACG) on Wednesday, when this season's first announced Flynas flight from Riyadh to Tivat was supposed to take place, instead of a photo of the Saudi "airbus A320" passing through the traditional salute of water cannons of fire engines at the airport, a terse announcement arrived that that company "due to the chronic lack of aircraft and staff facing the entire aviation industry, temporarily postponed the start of traffic from Riyadh to Tivat, which was planned for today".
Although its leaders spent the winter in Montenegro as special guests of ACG, in recent months Flynas did not advertise the introduction of the line to Tivat at all, nor was a ticket for the Riyadh-Tivat route purchased on the company's website, nor was Montenegro mentioned on the company's website among destinations in Europe to which its planes will fly this summer
However, as "Vijesti" unofficially learns, not only the first flight, but all previously promised flights from the capital of Saudi Arabia to the Montenegrin coast, which were supposed to be operated from June 1 to September 30, three times a week, have been postponed. This means that 53 rotations were lost and the expected traffic of at least 12 thousand passengers in both directions.
ACG avoided to officially confirm in response to the question of "Vijesti" why Flynas completely abandoned the previously announced regular seasonal traffic between Riyadh and Tivat.
"ACG informed the public that the low-cost Saudi company Flynas, as they explained, due to its own chronic lack of aircraft and personnel that the entire aviation industry is facing, temporarily postponed the start of flights from Riyadh to Tivat that were supposed to be implemented from June 1 . In the official letter, the company stated that it apologizes for the changes and states that they are in the process of securing the aircraft and that it is only a matter of confirming the new date for the start of the realization of flights to Montenegro", the ACG said.
No advertising, no ticket sales
Flynas, however, does not care about the number of planes at all, because that company, in addition to the 38 planes it already has in its fleet, has also ordered 80 new "airbus A320 neo" from the renowned European aircraft manufacturer of the same name.
The management of Flynas recently announced an ambitious expansion plan for the company, which envisages ordering up to 250 new aircraft. Even while waiting for the delivery of new aircraft, Flynas can quickly increase its fleet because there is a large number of used aircraft available on the world market that can be rented with or without crews.
Many air carriers often resort to such short-term solutions to increase the fleet in order to meet the increased seasonal needs for passenger transportation and the opening of new routes. This was done for this season by the Montenegrin national airline Air Montenegro and the most important business partner of ACG, the Serbian national airline Air Serbia, so "arguments" about the alleged lack of planes and crews as a justification for not introducing the promised air connection between Montenegro and Saudi Arabia are not they are standing.
This is supported by the fact that, although its leaders spent the winter in Montenegro as special guests of ACG, Flynas did not advertise the introduction of a line to Tivat in the past months, nor could a ticket for the Riyadh-Tivat route be purchased on the company's website. .
Flynas tickets on that route are still not on sale, and that company does not even mention Montenegro on its website among the destinations in Europe to which its planes will fly this summer. Of the European countries, only Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic and Albania are on the list.
Flynas recently officially canceled the planned flights to Belgrade, so the Saudi company in the region will regularly fly only to Sarajevo and Tirana. ACG did not comment on these facts for "Vijesti".
In recent months, ACG optimistically announced the beginning of a significant business cooperation with Flynas, with which negotiations were led by a member of the board of directors, Eldin Dobardžić (URA).
"I am very happy, because after two months of intensive negotiations, we are bringing a renowned airline from Saudi Arabia, Flynas, to Montenegro for the first time, and at the same time we are opening a market of about 35 million inhabitants for Montenegro. What is curious, and what makes me especially happy, is the fact that tourists from Saudi Arabia are interested in the north of our country and our natural beauty. It is a special chance for the additional development of tourism and the economy of the north. According to the assurances we received during the negotiations, as well as at the meeting in ACG, part of their tourists will certainly be directed towards our south, so Flynas will fly to Tivat", said Dobardžić on February 18, who then met with Flynas representatives.
Promotional flight only in promises
He then stated that, in principle, at the proposal of the ACG, they arranged a promotional flight for journalists and tourism workers from Saudi Arabia who would present the natural beauties of Montenegro to their compatriots. Dobaržić then said that they expect direct support from the state, which would be included in the negotiations on visa liberalization, and that they will soon please the citizens with the precise dates of the first flights.
The promised promotional flight of Flynas with tourism officials from Saudi Arabia in March did not happen. Meanwhile, ACG representatives continued to talk about that line and the arrival of Flynas in Montenegro as a done deal, so ACG director Goran Jandreoski talked about it on March 30 at the "Aviation Event" in Romania, and his deputy Petar Radulović ( PzP) boasted about that line on May 19, listing 25 new destinations to which flights from Podgorica and Tivat will allegedly be made this summer.
When asked by "Vijesti" whether Dobardžić will resign due to the inglorious outcome of the promised new business arrangement with Flynes, ACG stated that "according to his competences, Dobardžić continues to be available to respected colleagues from Flynas".
"An additional motivating factor, given that the ACG is one of the links in these negotiations, is the recent decision of the Government on the temporary establishment of visa liberalization for citizens of Saudi Arabia from June 1 to September 30 of this year," said the ACG. adding that "the situation in the company Flynas cannot be personalized or addressed to any individual in the management of ACG".
In recent months, the company and the government have boasted that the arrival of Flynas and the opening of the Saudi Arabian market will be a partial substitution for the extremely important markets of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus lost due to the war and sanctions.
The decision on the temporary suspension of visas was made at the end of May
At its session on May 26, the government decided to temporarily cancel visas for citizens of Saudi Arabia from June 1 to September 30.
"When making the decision, the Government took into account the fact that there is interest in establishing air traffic on the route Riyadh - Tivat, with a total of 53 rotations in that period," the announcement states.
The Government said that this can significantly contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries and a significant increase in income and the continuation of the recovery of tourism in the post-covid era.
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