DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON
German charter airline Hamburg International has been designated Kosovo's official carrier by the United Nations-led authorities in the Serbian province. The move is intended to help restore air links from Kosovo's primary city of Pristina.
Hamburg International was one of four companies to bid and fended off competition from Balkan flag carriers Adria Airways and JAT Airways, and a local tour and charter company. A fifth entrant, Egypt's Lotus Air, was disqualified after failing to supply appropriate documentation.
All the candidates were reviewed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the province's civil authority, with assistance from senior governing representatives and a panel of independent air transport specialists. UNMIK says the designation enables it to negotiate on behalf of the selected carrier for landing rights to other countries.
Hamburg International, which has been operating between Germany and Pristina for two years, has six Boeing 737-700s. The airline says the UNMIK decision will help clear the way for it to operate between Pristina and third countries - although a specific route network has yet to be drawn up. The carrier adds that it may decide to base one of its aircraft in Pristina.
Source: Flight International
