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Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) has commenced a series of charter flights to Sarajevo which will operate throughout May, August and September, becoming the latest carrier from the region to serve Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital. The first flight was operated earlier this week, on May 6, with services to run on May 12, 18 and 24, August 9, 15, 22 and 29, as well as September 5, 12 and 19. In total, the carrier will operate eleven flights between the two cities this summer. It will deploy its Airbus A320 aircraft on the route. Although MEA’s A320s have reduced capacity due to a large business class section, the airline is operating the Sarajevo service in an all-economy configuration of 156 seats.
Tickets for this service are only available as part of tour packages marketed on the Lebanese market. Multiple Lebanese tour operators are collaborating with MEA on the Sarajevo service. One major driver of these charters is religious tourism, specifically Catholic pilgrimages heading to Medjugorje. Lebanese pilgrimage organisers have been advertising all-inclusive pilgrim tours that include nonstop charter flights to Sarajevo, onward ground transport to Medjugorje and guided spiritual programs. In previous years, tour operators usually partnered with Croatia Airlines, which maintained charters between Mostar and Beirut, however, this cooperation has not been renewed.
In addition to pilgrimages, leisure travel packages from Lebanon to Bosnia and Herzegovina have emerged on the back of these charter flights. Lebanese travel agencies have been promoting summer holiday tours to Bosnia, highlighting the country’s natural beauty, cultural sites and the convenience of nonstop flights. This summer, within the Middle East, Sarajevo will boast connectivity through scheduled or charter flights to Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Doha, Dubai, Qassim (Buraidah), Jeddah, Kuwait City, Medina, Muscat, Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
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