Zagreb Airport anticipates handling over three million passengers this year, with a busy summer ahead. The airport's Executive Director for Ground Handling Services, Ivana Akmadžić, said recently, "We expect growth to continue not only this summer but next winter as well. We anticipate good numbers and results at the end of the year. I wouldn't like to speculate on a precise figure, but in my personal opinion we are looking at some three million passengers this year. The arrival of new airlines, coupled with an increase in capacity on existing services give us plenty of reason to be upbeat on our business results". Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron, noted, "We believe that the opening of the new terminal will broaden our goals. We aim to handle more passengers in the coming period, up to five million and then up to eight million in our next development phase. In order to achieve this, we have to attract new carriers, open new routes and destinations, and make our airport even more competitive".

Last week, Monarch Airlines became Zagreb Airport's newest customer, with the low cost airline launching services from both London Gatwick and Manchester. "We are very satisfied with the introduction of our new year-long flights to and from Zagreb. Monarch is the only carrier to connect Manchester and London Gatwick with Zagreb. Both destinations have a lot to offer and are ideal weekend getaways", Monarch's Head of Communications, David Page, said. Furthermore, in just over two weeks, Croatia Airlines will introduce four new routes from the airport, while Emirates will commence its daily service from Dubai to Zagreb with its Boeing 777-300 aircraft on June 1. The airport says it anticipates an extra 80.000 passengers within a year as a result of the new Dubai route.

Apart from the new arrivals, Korean Air will resume its seasonal charters from Seoul on May 19 with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft. As was the case last year, a total of eleven flights will operate during the summer (May, June, September and October). "Other increases include the doubling of Iberia flights between Zagreb and Madrid, as well as a 70% increase in operations and capacity by Czech Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines from Prague and Warsaw respectively. We are also a proud partner of Croatia Airlines, which holds a 55% passenger share at the airport, and aids our connectivity significantly ", Mr Feron said.

Zagreb Airport handled a record 2.766.087 passengers in 2016. During the first quarter of this year, it welcomed 516.000 travellers, an increase of 1.3%. Numbers are expected to pick up in April with growth forecast in the double digits for the month. Antonin Beurrier, the Executive Director and Chief International Officer at Zagreb Airport's key shareholder, Aéroports de Paris Management (ADP), said, "With passenger traffic up 20% over the past three years, and the arrival of ten new airlines, Zagreb Airport is seeing particularly rapid growth. For Groupe ADP, it is a strategic asset in its portfolio of airports across the world". He added, "Groupe ADP will operate the Zagreb Airport concession until 2042, providing the airport with a powerful tool to take full advantage of its potential in terms of economic development and tourism".