FlyBosnia
Defunct airline from Bosnia & Herzegovina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FlyBosnia was[1][2] an airline from Bosnia and Herzegovina based at Sarajevo International Airport in Sarajevo.
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| Founded | November 2017 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | January 2019 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | November 2020[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Sarajevo International Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
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History
FlyBosnia was registered in November 2017.[3] The Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation (BHDCA) issued an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to the airline on 11 January 2019.[4] Flying a single Airbus A319, FlyBosnia based its growth strategy on religious tourism[citation needed] and announced services to European operations, mainly London, Paris and Rome.[5]
FlyBosnia's second plane, also an Airbus A319 (registration E7-FBB), arrived from the United States on 8 May 2019, delivered by Aircraft Ferry Specialists. However, the aircraft was returned to its lessor in November 2019.[6] The airline had planned to add two more aircraft to its fleet by the end of 2019,[7] with an additional eight to arrive by 2023.[8] Shedules were launched in June of that same year.
In October 2019, reports emerged that FlyBosnia owed Sarajevo Airport substantial amounts of money for handling services.[9] Shortly after, it came to light that the airline had been failing to pay wages for several months and had been forced to lay off nearly half its staff. In November 2019, the company came to an agreement with Sarajevo Airport to pay the fees.[10] FlyBosnia also phased out one of its two Airbus A319s, with plans to take two more in 2020.[11]
In August 2020, FlyBosnia announced the termination of all its scheduled routes, with only charter services to Kuwait and Antalya remaining. Its sole owned aircraft, an Airbus A319-100, was to be scrapped and replaced under a wet lease contract to establish a broader network of charter destinations in 2021. A new CEO was also appointed.[12] In November 2020, FlyBosnia terminated its contract with Sarajevo Airport due to unpaid debts and financial difficulties.[13] Following the move, the airline ended operations.[1] In November of that same year all flight operations were halted.
In December 2021, FlyBosnia announced that it would return to the market with flights from all airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Zürich and Geneva in Switzerland.[14] However, the airline confirmed that these flights were a scam, as a travel agency from Switzerland had been selling FlyBosnia tickets without their permission for 2 weeks.[15]
As of late 2022, Sarajevo Airport released a tender to find a successor airline.[citation needed] In October 2022, the Bosnian authorities revoked both FlyBosnia's air operator certificate and operational license, over two years after the airline's final flight.[2]
Destinations
FlyBosnia served the following scheduled and charter destinations:[citation needed]
Fleet
FlyBosnia's fleet had been composed of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100[19] | 2 | — | 144 | One leased from AerCap (E7-FBB) |
| Airbus A320-200[20] | 1 | — | 174 | Leased from Onur Air |
| Airbus A321-200[21] | 1 | — | 153 | Leased from HiFly |
| Total | 4 | — |
Accidents and incidents
On 17 October 2019, FlyBosnia flight 6W108 from Rome, operated using an Airbus A319 (E7-FBB, MSN 1925), landed at Sarajevo Airport where it struck a boarding stair vehicle, damaging its left wingtip fence. The causes of the incident were determined to be the insufficient monitoring of the follow-me vehicle's movements by the flight crew while taxiing to the aircraft's parking position, and the incorrect positioning of the passenger stair vehicle on the apron.[22]
