Pula Airport anticipates Russian comeback

NEWS FLASH

Pula Airport is expecting strong growth in the number of passengers travelling from Russia this summer season. Red Wings Airlines will commence two weekly seasonal flights between Moscow Domodedovo Airport and Pula this summer. Services will commence on June 3 and run twice per week, each Wednesday and Saturday, until mid-September. The carrier will use its 210-seat Tupolev Tu-204 on the route. Red Wings' arrival to Pula is the second high profile announcement from Russia for the seaside city, with Vim Airlines previously noting it would operate summer charters from Moscow to Pula with its wide-body Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Prior to Croatia's entry into the European Union, Pula was considered the gateway for Russian travellers to the country. However, with the introduction of visas for Russian nationals, which was followed by the economic crisis in Russia, the number of holidaymakers, and with it the number of flights, decreased sharply. “We had some 360.000 passengers in 2013, but then came the EU entry on July 1. The effect on our tourism was immediate. Prior to joining, 40% of our arrivals were from Russia, and the new visa rules for Russia, Ukraine and Belarus meant that arrivals from these countries were down 50% in 2013 from the previous year", Pula Airport's General Manager, Svemir Radmilo, previously said. Further flight details for the new Moscow - Pula service can be found here.