Croatian airports struggle in February
Airports across Croatia saw a significant plunge in passenger numbers in February. Not a single airport in the country managed to improve on last year’s results. However, it should be taken into account that some airports were closed due to the weather conditions, which hampered most of Europe during the first half of February.Out of Croatia’s three busiest airports (Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik), it was Split that experienced the biggest fall in passenger numbers. During the month it welcomed 20.214 passengers, a decrease of 11.5% compared to the same month last year. The number of flights operated to and from the city plunged by over 15% on last year. Zagreb recorded over 8.000 passengers less than last February, making it its third consecutive month of declining passenger numbers. The average decrease for the smaller airports in the country stood at 44%. Brač on the other hand was the only not to see numbers slide. It didn’t manage to welcome a single passenger, as was the case in February 2011.
Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in February 2012. Overall, Croatian airports handled 155.666 passengers, a decrease of 8.8% compared to February 2011. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.
| Airport | Passengers FEB 2012 | Passengers FEB 2011 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zagreb | 117.725 | 125.978 | ▼ 7.0 |
| Dubrovnik | 15.725 | 17.485 | ▼ 10.1 |
| Split | 20.214 | 22.548 | ▼ 11.5 |
| Zadar | 1.275 | 1.853 | ▼ 45.8 |
| Pula | 658 | 1.172 | ▼ 43.9 |
| Rijeka | 42 | 73 | ▼ 42.5 |
| Osijek | 13 | 80 | ▼ 83.8 |
| Brač | 0 | 0 | - |
| Mali Lošinj | 18 | 132 | ▼ 86.4 |
Why is this post about numbers in February when we are in April?
ReplyDeleteexYu u forget, in february many flights were canceled cos of snow
ReplyDeleteIt is mentioned in the third sentence ;)
DeleteWhy.. in gods name do you keep a airport open for '80' guys in a month? Keep the 3 main airports open and close the others, only open them for the tourists in the main season and problems are gone.
ReplyDeleteWell they kept the airport open for 80 people in 2011, this year they kept it open for 13 people ;)
DeleteYou wanted a Croatia topic and here you got it, just it is not what you would have liked it to be...
ReplyDeleteVery disappointing..We have to wait for the march results but if this goes on it won't be a good sign.Bad weather is a reason for sure but probably not the only factor to blame.If there had been any growth it wouldn't have been such a sharp decline in pax numbers.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in the BEG and SKP march results
BEG more than 14% growth.
DeleteSpeculation or..?
Deletei agree, there are probably also other factors...also because this february had 29 days :)
DeleteActually, according to the official stats, February growth for BEG in passengers was 7% - take a look here: http://www.beg.aero/about_us/traffic_figures.611.html Still no data for March though...
DeleteI think he was referring to March numbers.
DeleteSKP for example had heavy snowing days in Feb, many flights were cancelled, lost it's one of the most important customers MALEV but posted a 21 percent growth
ReplyDeletePax numbers reduced by snowfall in February, but nothing to worry about. Plenty of new routes to all airports will boost numbers come the summer. Zadar for example has many new scheduled routes like Warsaw and Frankfurt and lots of Scandi charters so no Croatian airport apart from Osijek should be worried.
ReplyDeleteCroatian numbers will go up in summer
ReplyDeletedont worry about that.
Aviation in Croatia is actually more seasonal then anywhere in Ex Yu.
Belgrade will see an increase as usual but
not longer more than 10% that is sure.
Big theme of this year will be Jat
because of its big problems with their (in-)ability to operate with such a tight shedule.
Also possible is a complete breakdown of Jat
which will have catastrophal impact on Belgrade numbers.
So Zagreb airport becoming number one in Ex Yu is not so far stretched.
Excuse me but you are forgetting that Croatia will be part of the European Union and as such the Croatian government will not be able to provide subsidies to the airline. This means that chances are greater of OU going bust than JU.
DeleteThat "breakdown" has been arriving since Tito passed out.
ReplyDeleteMali Lošinj should not be mentioned in this list at all. It is a general aviation only airport. How do they determine who is a "passenger" there?
ReplyDeleteBy the number of people in each flight. Airports have to keep records of those.
DeleteMali Lošinj should not be mentioned in this list at all. It is a general aviation only airport. How do they determine who is a "passenger" there?
ReplyDeleteExpected,
ReplyDeleteMany people in Croatia are feeling the financial strain and are not so easy to spend their money these past 6 months and effects have passed onto air travel. Shame because it could have been a different story in Croatia especially if they were more eager to allow foreign investment.
The only positive side to this story is that there is nowhere to go from here but up.
One of the biggest television series (season 2 start today in the USA with expected tens of millions of viewers in the USA alone) was filmed in Dubrovnik. I wonder what impact this might have on potential visitors to Croatia from across the Atlantic and thus passenger numbers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p5ItWizs08&feature=youtu.be
Personally I'm a fan and have read all the completed books and have just started A dance with dragons. An awesome read!
It will have the same effect that James Bond had on Montenegro - none.
DeleteCroatia has two problems re these numbers:
ReplyDelete1. air traffic is still too seasonal
2. to misquote Mr Clinton, "It's the economy, stupid"
There is no simple solution, but it would change with just one major issue, weaning off tourism dependency. Sure, tourism can employ lots of people in the country (especially on the coast), but Croatia continues to fall further and further behind from a financial point of view, and the economy is going backwards if anything at present.
What is is that will make Croatia stand out economically when it joins the EU next year? If it (and its major representative at European airports, OU) don't immediately stand for something when it is announced, they will simply become 'just another member-state', which does not bode well for the country's future.
The place has progressed in leaps and bounds in recent years, but there is still so much to do - and so much stupidity and corruption along the way as well!!