Etihad Airways' maiden flight landed at Belgrade airport

Etihad Airways' maiden flight to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, landed on schedule at the city's Nikola Tesla Airport on Saturday (15 June 2013), the airline said in a release.

The Airbus A319 aircraft, flight EY71 from Abu Dhabi, touched down at 12.15pm (local time) and was welcomed with the traditional water cannon salute from airport fire engines.

The national airline of the United Arab Emirates now flies daily between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade, carrying the JU code of Serbian national carrier, Jat Airways.

Cooperation between Etihad Airways and Jat Airways continues to grow and the two airlines will (subject to government and regulatory approval) add their code to more than 40 destinations across each other's networks.

Etihad Airways operates a two cabin Airbus A319 aircraft on the service between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade, configured to carry 106 passengers, with 16 seats in Pearl Business Class and 90 seats in Coral Economy Class.

Etihad Airways, which exists since 2003, transported 10.3 million passengers last year.