In a social media statement , Air Serbia has made it clear that the carrier is ending its agreement with Greek carrier Marathon Airlunes, from which it has been wet-leasing Embraer aircraft, which can be seen as a direct action following the serious aircraft incident that happened on Sunday, February 18.
Taking cognizance of the incident that was visually shocking to the aviation fraternity and passengers alike , and further steps taken by Air Serbia in this regard, the carrier released a statement, saying ,
On the occasion of flight JU324 between Belgrade and Dusseldorf on the evening of Sunday, February 18, 2024, when the Embraer E195 plane of the partner Greek airline Marathon Airlines (Marathon Airlines) was damaged, Air Serbia immediately contacted the competent state authorities - Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCV) of the Republic of Serbia and the Traffic Accident Research Center (CINS).
Commenting on the incident in terms of aviation safety, the airline added :
The safety of passengers and crew members is the most important priority for Air Serbia and the Serbian national airline is fully cooperating with the aforementioned authorities in the ongoing investigation. The Greek aviation authorities will also conduct their own investigation.
Due to the mentioned incident, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade in cooperation with the Directorate of Criminal Police launched a preliminary investigation in order to determine all the circumstances related to the flight air turn back, that compromised the aviation safety.
The Belgrade based carrier made it clear that they are severing operational ties with the Marathon Airlines,
Regardless of the results of the aforementioned investigation, Air Serbia today informed Marathon Airlines that it is terminating cooperation with that company, so that as of tomorrow, February 21, 2024, no Air Serbia flight will be operated by the Greek company's aircraft. The flights that were supposed to be operated by Marathon Airlines will be distributed to other aircraft in the fleet, in order to maintain the continuity of traffic.
Marathon Airlines is an airline based in Greece that meets all the necessary standards of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Air Serbia has been cooperating with that company since June 2023 according to the short-term aircraft lease model, which also includes crew members (wet lease).
Air Serbia also explained the business model here, and how the short-term lease model works in aviation industry, it said,
It is a business model that has been applied by a large number of the largest European and world companies for years, and was especially accepted during the period of recovery of air traffic after the corona virus pandemic, when there was a significant increase in demand on the market.
Within the cooperation based on the short-term lease of aircraft together with the crew, the partner airlines bear full responsibility for the selection and preparation of all members of the flight and cabin crew on their aircraft.
Air Serbia extended its apologize to all passengers from flight JU324 from February 18, 2024 for the inconvenience caused. It mentioned that despite the fact that that flight was operated by the partner airline Marathon Airlines, that the plane was safely landed on that occasion and that there were no injured passengers or crew members, as a responsible company, Air Serbia would like to point out that it is fully aware of the feelings they went through passengers on that flight and that he deeply regrets the inconvenience they faced.
All passengers from flight JU324 from February 18, 2024, in accordance with the regulations, have the right to standard compensation, as well as compensation for other costs incurred as a result of the flight being delayed for one day.
Passengers can exercise their rights through a special form available on the Air Serbia website (https://airserbia.com/sr_latin/feedback) and the requests in question will be resolved as a matter of priority.
It is to be noted that Marathon Airlines Embraer E195LR aircraft (OY-GDC) , operating on behalf of Air Serbia , returned back to Belgrade (BEG) after it hit an airport infra (landing instrument) while operating flight JU324 Belgrade - Dusseldorf on the evening of Sunday, February 18, 2024.
In addition, taking into account the above-mentioned circumstances, the carrier has decided to fully refund the money from the purchased tickets for that flight to all passengers at the same time. That decision also applies to 91 passengers out of the initial 106, who traveled to Dusseldorf from Belgrade on yesterday's (February 19) delayed flight.
Air Serbia pointed out that it has not made any announcements so far and will not make any announcements regarding the details of flight JU324 from February 18, as long as the investigation is ongoing.
Apart from immediate steps taken in the aftermath, the Serbian national airline also said that it would like to emphasize once again that it sympathizes with its passengers from flight JU324 from February 18 and understands the inconvenience they faced on that occasion. It said,
That is why Air Serbia has decided to immediately and without delay take all the above-mentioned necessary measures within its competence, and in the coming period will consider further steps, with the aim that the recent event does not violate the trust that passengers have in the Serbian airline for decades.
