Croatia extends domestic flight subsidies

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Croatian government has approved plans to subsidise low yielding domestic routes over the next four years. The public service obligation (PSO) is in line with the government's existing state support for such flights as well as European Union regulation. Routes that will be subsidised between March 27, 2016 and March 28, 2020 include existing PSO flights such as Dubrovnik - Zagreb - Dubrovnik, Split - Zagreb - Split, Zagreb - Zadar - Pula - Zadar - Zagreb, Osijek - Dubrovnik - Osijek and Osijek - Split - Osijek. New services which are eligible for subsidies include Zagreb - Brač - Zagreb, twice per week on a seasonal summer basis, as well as Osijek - Zagreb - Osijek, Osijek - Pula - Split - Pula - Osijek, Osijek - Rijeka - Osijek and Rijeka - Split - Dubrovnik - Split - Rijeka, all year round. Interested airlines will have to apply for the subsidies through a public tender. The Croatian government says the policy boosts mobility and air connectivity between Croatian cities and aids the tourism sector.