newstodate.aero
Jun 11, 2015 (newstodate): Plans for start of first-ever flights to connect Croatia and China by direct air links are still hampered by snags and uncertainties.
Originally expected to start with first flights by early March 2015, a new launch date is not currently set.
-We are still negotiating with the Chinese parties and I do not foresee a conclusion of these talks before September or even October, says a spokesman for CSEBA that is the Croatian party behind the project.
-For one thing, there are unsettled issues concerning the visa regime for Chinese passengers, and we are now discussing the set-up of visa checkpoints in certain Chinese cities.
-Also the issue of which carrier will actually perform the flights remains unsettled. Hainan Airlines has been in the picture, but they are now focusing on first getting the new service to Rome on a firm footing, and earlier thoughts about extending the route between Rome and Zadar, in Croatia, are now no longer viable.
-So all in all, both parties are still determined to realize the planned air service between China and Croatia, but the process has not yet reached a conclusive stage, the spokesman says.
Driving the project is the organization the Chinese Southeast European Business Association, CSEBA, set up in February 2014 on the initiative of former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.
Originally expected to start with first flights by early March 2015, a new launch date is not currently set.
-We are still negotiating with the Chinese parties and I do not foresee a conclusion of these talks before September or even October, says a spokesman for CSEBA that is the Croatian party behind the project.
-For one thing, there are unsettled issues concerning the visa regime for Chinese passengers, and we are now discussing the set-up of visa checkpoints in certain Chinese cities.
-Also the issue of which carrier will actually perform the flights remains unsettled. Hainan Airlines has been in the picture, but they are now focusing on first getting the new service to Rome on a firm footing, and earlier thoughts about extending the route between Rome and Zadar, in Croatia, are now no longer viable.
-So all in all, both parties are still determined to realize the planned air service between China and Croatia, but the process has not yet reached a conclusive stage, the spokesman says.
Driving the project is the organization the Chinese Southeast European Business Association, CSEBA, set up in February 2014 on the initiative of former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.