Fly fishing: Republika Srpska wants to establish direct flights with Russia

Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH) wants to establish direct flights with the Russian Federation, Zeljka Cvijanovic, a member of the BiH Presidium from the Serbs, told Izvestia at the Munich Security Conference. The Croatian Muslim Federation of BiH, which advocates rapprochement with the European Union, will try to block this decision, according to the expert community. At the same time, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) believes that the introduction of direct flights from Banja Luka to Moscow is possible through Air Serbia, which organizes trips from Serbia to Russia.

Flights between Russia and BiH

The entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Republika Srpska wants to establish direct flights with the Russian Federation.

— As for Republika Srpska, I think this is possible because we would like to establish as many direct flights as possible. But if we talk about Bosnia and Herzegovina, I don't think that such an issue is being discussed. I am not aware of any such discussions," Zeljka Cvijanovic, a member of the BiH Presidium from the Serbs, told Izvestia.

The leadership of Republika Srpska is striving to expand opportunities for contacts with the Russian Federation, which is facilitated by the absence of a visa regime for Russians. Currently, there are two main ways to get from Russia to Bosnia and Herzegovina: via Serbia by Air Serbia and Turkey (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus). Also, some Russians fly to Serbia or Montenegro and get to BiH by buses or rented cars.

The decision to establish direct flights depends on the number of interested passengers, emphasizes Srdjan Mazalica, a member of the Assembly of Republika Srpska.

— There is one airport in the Republika Srpska in Banja Luka, from which low-cost airlines operate, as well as some neighboring ones, such as Air Serbia. The Representative Office of Republika Srpska in the Russian Federation tried to find interested partners for flights from Banja Luka to Moscow, but without success," he told Izvestia.

The establishment of direct flights from Republika Srpska to Russia is theoretically possible if Air Serbia decided to organize flights from Banja Luka, said Artur Muradian, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). Flights are also possible through airlines with connections in Turkey — Turkish Airlines and Pegasus. The way is closed for Russian companies.

— Russian airlines have aircraft capable of flying across the Black Sea and overflying Greece. And then there is the territory of the EU, the airspace along Italy, and therefore they cannot fly to Bosnia and Herzegovina," he explained.

At the same time, tour operators do not show increased interest in organizing trips to the Balkans, the expert emphasizes.

— Now this area is not included in the sphere of interests of tour operators. Although it is interesting in itself, like all the Balkans, and Russians have a good attitude towards this part of the Balkans, which we see from the demand for Serbia," Artur Muradian said.

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How will Sarajevo react to such flights

According to the Republican Institute of Statistics of Serbia, in 2025 the country was visited by over 173 thousand tourists from the Russian Federation. Russians have traditionally entered the top three in terms of the number of visits among foreign citizens, second only to travelers from Turkey and China.

Montenegro has become another country that is traditionally in demand among Russian citizens. According to ATOR, over 123 thousand visits by Russians were recorded there in the first eight months of 2025. The advantage of Montenegro, like Serbia and BiH, is the visa—free regime. However, the authorities had previously announced that they were ready to abandon it this year in order to accelerate integration with the European Union, which requires tougher approaches towards Russia for its candidate countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a candidate for EU membership. The Muslim-Croatian Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in favor of BiH joining the European Union. If BiH and the leadership of Republika Srpska decide to establish direct flights with Russia, the European Union is unlikely to be able to prevent this, said INF expert Milan Lazovic. But Sarajevo will try to block this decision.

— Of course, the EU would be outraged, but it would hardly affect anything. Serbia still has direct flights to Russia," he told Izvestia.

At the same time, BiH as a country is not in high demand among tourists from the Russian Federation. According to official statistics, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Slovenia are in the top 5. Milan Lazovic stresses that, nevertheless, the Republika Srpska leadership has a willingness to lobby for direct flights with Russia.

— Milorad Dodik has repeatedly spoken in favor of this. He is generally a very influential person in the republic, despite the fact that there is a new president there now. Therefore, there is definitely a political will and desire," Lazovich said.

Milorad Dodik resigned as president last year. As a result of the early elections, his colleague Sinisha Karan won. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously stated that the Republika Srpska, under the new leadership, maintains friendly relations with Moscow.