Croatian airports set for record summer


Croatia’s nine commercial airports will see a significant increase in the number of flights and capacity on offer this summer. Zagreb Airport, which is today marking the first anniversary since the opening of its new terminal building, said, “We anticipate for the positive trends to continue into the summer. Two new carriers will launch flights to Zagreb - Greece’s Aegean Airlines, which will introduce three weekly services from Athens, as well as the Canadian national carrier Air Canada, which will commence four weekly flights from Toronto. Croatia Airlines will start services to Dublin and Mostar, while Air Transat will prolong its seasonal flights by a month compared to last year”. It added, “This summer, a number of our partners will boost their frequencies, such as Spain’s Iberia which has announced a number of additional departures”.

Split Airport expects to handle three million passengers this year. A number of carriers have scheduled new seasonal flights to Croatia's second largest city including Croatia Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, airBaltic, easyJet, Thomas Cook Airlines, Condor, Volotea, Smartwings and Jet2. Furthermore, charter airlines will significantly boost their presence in Split. This year is expected to be the last the airport will face capacity constraints with work on its new passenger terminal progressing on schedule. However, despite a lack of available day-time slots over the summer months, the airport is not encouraging airlines to operate night flights after it became operational 24-hours a day for all types of traffic as of last Sunday.

First phase of Dubrovnik Airport's runway overhaul nears completion

Dubrovnik Airport has projected 10% passenger growth this summer. “This year we expect the biggest increase in arrivals from the United Kingdom. In addition, several new routes will be launched. Among them is Edelweiss Air from Zurich, Flydubai from Dubai, as well as Adria Airways from Ljubljana. There will also be a number of charter flights from the Middle East”, Dubrovnik Airport’s Operations Coordinator, Josip Paljetak, said. Other airlines to commence new services to Dubrovnik this summer include Air France, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, easyJet, Transavia, Volotea, TUIfly, Thomas Cook Airlines and Smartings, while Rossiya Airlines will run two charters from Moscow on April 16 and April 20 with its 522-seat Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Meanwhile, the first phase of the overhaul of the airport’s runway and taxiways is nearing completion. The work, which began in December of last year, is part of a multi million euro development project that will enhance the airport's handling capacity to approximately 3.98 million passengers per year. The first phase of the overhaul included work on the eastern portion of the runway, while work on the western side will begin following the 2018 summer season.

Pula Airport anticipates welcoming a record 700.000 travellers this year. General Manager Svemir Radmilo noted that the airport should see 15% passenger growth this summer with over 10.000 flights to be operated. "Pula Airport was linked to 53 destinations in 2017. In 2018 we expect this figure to reach close to sixty. Volotea will launch its new route from Nantes to Pula in May, easyJet will add new services from Milan, Basel, Liverpool and London Southend, while Swiss International Air Lines will introduce flights from Zurich", Mr Radmilo said. This summer will also see Pula served by the wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will be utilised by TUI from London, each Tuesday, starting May 1.

Zadar Airport is gearing up for growth of between 5% and 7% this summer. A total of five new carriers will launch operations to the city, while the airport will offer ten additional destinations when compared to last year. “New arrivals include Aegean Airlines from Athens, Norwegian Air Shuttle from Oslo, Germania from Zurich, Brussels Airlines from Brussels and Condor from Frankfurt. This summer, Ryanair will maintain fourteen routes from Zadar and launch three new destinations: to Frankfurt, Memmingen and Bremen. Eurowings will run seven routes to Zadar and easyJet three. The national carrier, Croatia Airlines, is this year operating flights to Zagreb and Pula, as well as a service to Frankfurt”, Zadar Airport said in a statement.

Rijeka Airport expects ambitious passenger growth of 40% this summer on the back of a handful of new routes and a strong charter season. New scheduled services will be introduced from Eindhoven, Frankfurt and Katowice to Rijeka, while charters will be operated from Warsaw, Katowice, Gdansk, Paris, Nantes and Lyon. Ryanair, which initially had no plans to resume its seasonal flights from London Stansted to Rijeka this summer has recently put tickets on sale for the route, with two weekly services planned from July until the end of August. It comes after Croatia Airlines cancelled its one weekly summer flight from the seaside town to London Heathrow.

Brač Airport plans to welcome a record 47.000 travellers through its doors this summer, a year after it extended its runway, allowing it to handle larger aircraft. The airport expects to benefit from the capacity and slot constraints over at Split Airport, with some airlines rerouting to Brač instead. “From Zagreb, Croatia Airlines will continue to maintain flights throughout the summer season, while Adria Airways will launch services from Ljubljana in April with its Bombardier jet-engine aircraft. It is important to note that Adria is targeting transfer passengers from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam to Brač”, the airport’s General Manager, Tonči Peović, said. This summer, Switzerland’s SkyWork Airlines will commence services from Bern to the island airport, while Luxair will introduce operations from Luxembourg in May. Due to congestion at Split Airport, TUIfly will boost its seasonal services from Brussels and Deauville to Brač, as well as launch new flights from Rotterdam. “We will see a big leap this year in the number of passengers because, apart from scheduled flights, Brač sees a lot of small private aircraft that also need to be handled. So there will be a lot of work”, Mr Peović said.

At Osijek Airport, Wizz Air will add another flight, for a total of three per week, on its services from Basel. Finally, the small Czech-registered airline Silver Air will commence seasonal summer flights from Lošinj Airport to a number of Croatian cities. It will become the first foreign carrier to maintain domestic flights and the only scheduled airline to operate out of Lošinj, the country's smallest commercial airport. Services to Zagreb, Split and Pula will commence on June 24 and run until September 16. Furthermore, Silver Air will link Lošinj with Lugano in Switzerland. All flights will be operated with the twenty-seat L-410 Turbolet aircraft.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    Impressive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah very impressive numbers, I'm hoping for the Eindhoven - Zadar route

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:45

      Yep don't understand how nobody has stepped in on this route yet or even better Rotterdam/the Hague - Zadar (this would cover Amsterdam as well, since Schiphol is crowded and getting on its maximum).

      But especially EIN surprises me where you have both transavia and ryanair that could fly this route, its beyond me how nobody has seen this potential yet. I am actually hoping they might open up, there is time until july...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:07

      Strange indeed. Dutch people are really travelling a lot. Seasonally routes to both these airports could work.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:30

      They would work. For example Dutch travel agencies fly youngsters over from RTM to SPU to take them with the bus to Zrce beach, thats why transavia tickets are so expensive july & august (with fares like 200 euros one way). Would be a lot more logical to just fly them to ZAD.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:26

      I dont think rynair will start flights from Eindhoven to Zadar dince they fly from the nearby airport Weeze to Zadar

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Osijek is the disappointment this year. No major increase in flight and no new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      It's a disappointment most years. It is inland so there are fewer tourists and it is close to other airports so it is much more difficult to attract traffic.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      It has a completely different passenger structure to other airports in Croatia and a whole lot more competition from airports in neighboring countries.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      Osijek's main passengers are gasterbaiters.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:11

      It goes to the show that the majority of traffic at Croatian airports is generated by tourism. Otherwise passenger levels would be simmilar to Osijek's, with exception to Zagreb.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:29

      OSI - DUB could work.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:30

      Actually Ireland and Southern Germany in general should work. That's where most of the people from Slavonia have moved to.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:28

      Didn't Croatia Airlines fly a few charters from Osijek to Dublin a few years ago and the loads were terrible?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:19

      Why doesn`t Osijek airport try to attract passengers from Serbia with low cost flights? It`s not far, both from Novi Sad and Bačka region of Vojvodina, and also from Belgrade.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:29

      There is no point. No one wants to hassle with cross boarder checks, lines and highway fees when they can go to BEG for the gasterbaiter routes Osijek would likely offer.

      Delete
    10. Anon 12:28: of course the loads were terrible because it was charterflights. People want to visit their family and friends and with organized charters you are not flexible.

      Let the flights be regular and you will see, the loads are going up

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    Congratulations Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Brac will be the new big performer this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      I think Split will keep that title.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      Agree. Split will continue to be the stand out performer in Croatia this year.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      Pity those Eurowings flights never happened.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:28

      They will. Wait and see ;)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:14

      So no eurowings on BWK in s18?

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    Interestingly Eurowings which had so many plans to launch new routes and increase frequencies in Croatia this summer has done nothing. Is there an explanation why?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      They are a mess at the moment. Not enough crew or planes. They have grown way too quickly and need to cover markets which have greater priority. So all plans for Croatia are on hold.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      well Croatia flights from MUC and SZG didnt really work out for Eurowings last summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:20

      They pulled a lot of planes everywhere to serve even more lucrative markets!

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    Good to see FR won't give up on London-Rijeka route although it's only very a few flights during peak summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:29

      +1
      They decided to keep it probably because OU suspended RJK-LHR.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:09

    Oh boy, what a brilliant article. This just shows how much potential Croatia has and of course EU entry says its word.
    If SPU handles 3 million, then it's getting really close to ZAG in terms of figures because only 2 new carriers are expected to launch services. But, well done Croatia. Good for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, ZAG and SPU will be both somewhere between 3.3 and 3.4 mil pax this year. Well done Split, while for ZAG, well...they've done well in building good quality partnerships - now, it's time to get more long haul routes, while turning many of the existing ones into year-long.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      2 new carriers?

      Air Canada to Toronto
      Aegean to Athens
      Silver Air to Losinj
      Tailwind to Antalya

      that is 4, not 2, but also:
      Croatia to Mostar and Dublin
      Air Transat to Montreal

      + huge increase of some Croatia flights, Iberia to 2 times per day, LOT, Qatar...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      Silver Air will have couple of flights during summer with 15 seat plane. You really shouldn't include that in your count. Even Zagreb Airport doesn't include them in their statement.

      Delete
    4. More on the overall traffic projections for ZAG here - who is interested https://avioradar.hr/index.php/hrvatska/936-prometne-prognoze-2018-medunarodna-zracna-luka-zagreb

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:47

      Honestly, I expected more announcements for Croatia this year, especially ZAG!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:54

      We can expect around 3.5 million pax at Zagreb in 2018, which isn't bad.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:12

      ZAG desperately needs Wizz Air. Maybe now with their expansion in Vienna and Milan we might see Zagreb as well.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:12

      Yes, but if ZAG doesn't act in 2019, then SPU will definitely surpass it in 2019.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:33

      Anon 10:12 And what will happen then? Split will win the gold medal?

      I really don't understand this mentality, this is not a sports competition where there will be a winner. This is business for private companies, and partially business partially public service for governments. And in business world, money is the key word.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:50

      Well darling, it's all about the numbers. The more passengers an airport makes the more income is generated. Easy peasy. And it's thanks to the coast that Croatia is booming. We cannot rely on the capital city compared to other countries.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:13

      Anon 10:50 Not necessarily. It may seem "easy peasy" for you, but it is not.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous14:51

      Isn't it better for Croatia in general for SPU to be the big performer and to gain most profit.
      Since profit of ZAG goes to the French and profit of SPU is going to SPU itself who is investing it currently in a bigger terminal?

      Delete
    13. Concessionaire is paying big annual fees to the Cro government and the local communities. So far in 3 years, they've paid something like 25 mil euros worth of concession fees in total. Not to forget they've built 300 mil euro terminal. So, is it really so when you say that "french" are the only benefitiaries ?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous21:32

      Ah I thought they only paid the terminal and in exchange for that they got the concession. And since the terminal is already there I figured that what I wrote above, my bad.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous07:59

      Siler air will fly 3 flghts per week, total of 50 flights. Plane is with 20 seats x 2 directions = 2.000 seats.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    For a relatively small country it is impressive that 9 airports will have commercial flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      7 of which are coastal. It's not a big surprise.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:20

    Croatia needs to reduce seasonality, especially at Zagreb Airport. So I think ZAG and SPU should work on this. For winter DBV for example sees respectable traffic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      I agree. I hope Croatia Airlines at least extends some of its seasonal flights to all year round.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:34

      They should have done it already with Stockholm or Oslo.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:36

      Respect DBV for winter?

      http://tinypic.com/r/kbu2z7/9

      :)))))))

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:47

      So basically in winter, DBV has an average of 4-5 flights per day - something like INI.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:20

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:22

    Aegean's wikipedia page has ZAG route as year round.
    Good news, two Star Alliance hubs will be connected all year long.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      Because Wikipedia is a reliable source. Tickets can only be bought until the end of summer. Some executive from Aegean said and it was quoted here that they will decide if they will extend flights based on demand.

      "The flights to Zagreb are initially planned as seasonal. Depending on performance we may consider a year-round operation", the airline said.

      I will trust the airline more than Wikipedia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      Anon 9.24 is right. Tickets are on sale until end of October.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:53

      In theory, A3 have launched their winter timetable already. If ZAG is not included, then it's seasonal.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:55

      wiki also says that they will start SKP in June. zaboravi

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:56

      If you try and book a tickets from Zagreb to Athens on Aegean site during winter season you get the following message:

      "Flights from ATHENS to ZAGREB operate from 28/03/2018 until 27/10/2018. Please change your search criteria & select alternate dates."

      So the information on Wikipedia is wrong.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:11

      I hope they stay year-round but I don't think it will happen. Zagreb has fantastic demand in summer but that same demand disappears in winter.

      I wish the airport and the city did something to stimulate demand outside the busy periods.

      More and more Croats are leaving the country so it is expected to see more flights like DUB and OSL.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:38

      Really? I didn't know this Anon 10:11am. I thought economic situation is great in Croatia. Where do they leave to? Ireland and Norway?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:45

      Aegean hsn't yet added the winter schedule for flights operated by Olympic aircraft.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:31

    2018 will be another huge year for tourism again which = great year for airports.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:04

      Plus the tourist season is extending more and more each year.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:34

    Happy to see Losinj get some traffic this summer, even with very small aircraft. Hope they don't get cancelled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      Can those flights from Losinj be booked anywhere?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:37

      Losinj does ok considering it has no scheduled flights (until this year). Last year they had over 6,000 pax just from private flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:43

      At same time Portoroz with no commercial traffic handles 20,000+ passengers.

      Delete
    4. Yes! On silverair-travel.com

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:38

    Any idea how many passengers all Croatian airport could handle this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      10+ million.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:51

      Definitely more than that.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:57

      More than 10 million for sure, hopefully closer to 11.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:50

    Great job Croatia

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:50

    I believe Rijeka will be positive surprise this summer, finally, after many years of disappointments

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      They need a management change in my opinion. It was a very promising airport years ago when Easy Jet started flights there.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      fully agree with u

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:25

      I’m predicting Rijeka to be the next big hit too.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:07

    FR should base another aircraft in ZAD. There are many more routes that can be opened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:24

      They have a very odd relationship with ZAD and every year they threaten them with pulling out aircraft if they don't get requested subsidies.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:09

    Can Dubrovnik reach 3 million this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:10

      No. It just reached 2 million last year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:22

      They could have 2.7 million tops this year.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:38

      Ma mogli bi i 4 000 000...
      Ali nece

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:09

    Pula Airport is one of the best small airports in ex-Yu. I think they will easily achieve 700,000 passengers this year. They overtook Zadar last year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:37

      defo much better then TGD for example

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:31

      Podgorica handles over 1 million passengers and has traffic over winter...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:44

      Actually TGD has been really impressive over the last few years even if it has Tivat to compete with.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:57

      Tuzla will definitely overtake both Pula and Zadar this year.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:10

      Will INI catch up with TZL?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:34

      we are not talking here who has more passangers. its about airports. Pula airport is a much better experience then POdgorica

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:39

      Oh that I completely agree with you.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:22

    It's great to see Air France starting flights to DBV. Split would be a nice addition too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      Generally it's good to see more legacy airlines flying to Croatian coastal cities. Swiss also starts new Pula flights this summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:14

      next year!

      Delete
    3. AF is listed on pdf summer timetable Split Airport. We will see if realizes

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:31

      Could you provide a link to that please?

      Delete
    5. http://www.split-airport.hr/images/Split_Airport_Summer_TT2018.pdf

      Delete
    6. http://www.split-airport.hr/images/Split_Airport_Summer_TT2018.pdf

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:06

      Thanks.
      So strange. AF 4035 (Mid July-End Aug) is not listed anywhere else, also not online on the airline's website (cannot be booked).

      Anyone in the know?

      Delete
    8. Ryanair from Poland and easyjet from SEN are listed too, but not able to book

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:28

    Still a lot of room for improvement during winter months for all airports.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous10:31

    wow I didn't know Pula will be getting the 787 this summer. Nice work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      When do these flights start. Who is flying the aircraft?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:28

      Read the article. TUI from London from May 1.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:44

    Congratulations Croatia. This is impressive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      Biggest market in ex-yu.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:11

      How many Pax can we expect in Croatia this year? 12 Million?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:34

      Croatia has around 9.5 million passengers in 2017. In 2018 I expect 11 million.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:16

    Croatian coast is growing and growing each year with impressive double digits

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:50

    Prediction

    Zagreb - 3.5 million
    Split - 3.2 million
    Dubrovnik - 2.7 million
    Pula - 700 000
    Zadar - 640 000
    Rijeka - 170 000
    Osijek - 50 000
    Brac - 30 000

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:27

      I think 3.5 might be a bit of a stretch for Zagreb this year. More likely 3.2. The rest I agree with.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:12

      Bwk more then 30000,..35000

      Delete
    3. If Zagreb has at least 10% growth for the month of March, then at least 3.4 million pax for 2018 is very probable.

      Delete
    4. March is on a way to hit +14%. So far, with all the planned new capacity, +9% is secured for 2018. Still time for the 2nd half of the year to grow, so there is a chance for +10% or higher growth rate overall in 2018.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:54

      Petar, what's with other announcements for ZAG this year? Only Aegean and AC Rouge?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:11

      Yes.

      Delete
    7. 14%.... nice!

      Delete
    8. F-16s have been announced for 2020 :)

      Delete
  26. Anonymous12:15

    Why doesn't DBV or SPU copy the really good idea experimented in VAR? Make most municipalities unite and create a fund. This way flights are sustained during the winter. Now W6 has a base there, TK, S7, OS and FB fly through the winter too and it's working quite well. Just an idea for DBV or SPU being bigger cities to make money during winter too.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:41

    I am impressed how close SPU came to overtaking ZAG in 2017. They reduced the difference by some 300.000 passengers. This year it will be even closer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:02

      If they had a few flights more during the winter they would be ahead of ZAG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:34

      +1

      But I think if SPU overtakes ZAG, the Purger government will make hell for the Dalmatians and suddenly "delay" funds, payment from taxes towards Dalmatia etc. Not like it hasnt happened in the past whenever something on the coast became too successful and threatened the ZAG area.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:49

      @anon 6:34 - This is such a childish comment, I sincerely hope you're less than 13 years old.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous14:34

    Good article and illustrates well the huge demand for flights to Croatia this summer. It is also great to see that 2 of Croatia's three largest airports are building new infrastructure.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous14:39

    Also nice to see Lauda back in Croatia :)

    http://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/03/laudamotion-to-launch-croatia-flights.html

    ReplyDelete

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