Toronto's 4th Longest European Link: This Small Airline Says It'll Begin Canada Flights Soon

Air Serbia has confirmed that it will begin flying to Toronto in May 2026. While not yet scheduled or available for booking, the carrier’s management has stated that it will operate seasonally through September. A twice-weekly service is expected. It’s bound to be in my Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition here).

The carrier’s predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, flew to Toronto and Montreal until the early 1990s. This time, flights would, of course, utilize the Airbus A330-200, which is Air Serbia’s widebody equipment. According to ch-aviation, it now has four frames. Registered YU-ARE, the fourth example arrived in February 2025. Some 11.5 years old, it was delivered to Etihad Airways in May 2014.

Hang On: Belgrade To Toronto?!

Credit: GCMap

According to booking data for August 2024 to July 2025, 49,000 round-trip passengers (mainly Serbian Canadians) flew between Belgrade and Toronto, which is not among the world’s ten busiest airports. LOT Polish carried the most passengers via its Warsaw hub. Toronto is Belgrade’s largest unserved market globally.

Given Air Serbia’s comments suggest flights will run for fewer than four months and only operate twice-weekly, it won’t need many passengers who connect to other cities in the Balkans and beyond. And whether it does, like its existing North American routes to New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare do, depends on the exact schedule. Notable markets from Toronto include Tirana (30,000 passengers), Bucharest (28,000), Moscow (16,000), Skopje (14,000), and Sofia (12,000).

Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, recently said that,

“From late May, we will introduce seasonal flights to Toronto. The service is currently planned until late September. There is a big community from both Serbia and the region living there, so this will be an important route not just for Serbia and Belgrade but for the wider region, too.”

It Would Be Toronto’s 4th-Longest European Link

Credit: Vincenzo Pace

If flights do indeed materialize, Belgrade to Toronto would cover 4,006 nautical miles (7,419 km) each way. It would become the Canadian airport’s fourth-longest European route next summer. Based on the great circle distance, only Istanbul Airport (which is on the European side of the Bosphorus), Athens, and Lamezia Terme would cover more ground.

Belgrade would surpass Budapest, with this route returning to Toronto’s map on June 5, 2026. The market has had various operators in the past two decades. For example, Hungary’s then-flag carrier, Malev, served it until 2008. SkyGreece seemingly operated in 2015, followed by Air Canada Route and Air Transat in 2016. Rouge pulled out in 2019. In 2026, it will see Air Canada’s mainline aircraft for the first time.

Historically, Toronto had other European links that covered more distance than Belgrade would. For example, Bucharest—historically served by TAROM and most recently by Air Canada Rouge until 2019—did. As did Kyiv (Aerosvit until 2012, Ukraine International until 2023), Moscow Sheremetyevo (served by Aeroflot until 2014), Moscow Vnukovo (served by Transaero until 2015), and Moscow Domodedovo (part of Transaero’s network until 2015).

Miami Flights Are Also Expected

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Air Serbia has often mentioned adding Miami to its network. The airline’s CEO recently said the Florida city would be its next logical US market. If it happens, connections to Moscow via Belgrade may be notable. Twice the number of people fly from Miami to Moscow (especially with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul) as from Miami to Belgrade.

Earlier this year, Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s Director for Marketing and Air Service Development, Emir Pineda, stated that the route would likely be announced by early 2026. It is unusual for an airport to comment publicly on potential future operations. Time will tell if it is announced.