Split Airport closing in on Zagreb

Split Airport's General Manager Lukša Novak says the airport has never been closer to catching up to the country's busiest in Zagreb as it handled its second millionth passenger of the year yesterday, just under a month ahead of 2016. "Almost half of our annual traffic is achieved during July and August. Last year that amounted to some one million passengers", the General Manager said. This July, Split Airport was the busiest in the former Yugoslavia, handling 657.056 travellers. It marked the largest number of passengers ever welcomed by both an airport in Croatia and the region. "This is twice as many as Zagreb and 50% more than Dubrovnik", Mr Novak noted, adding, "During the four summer months we have the most passenger traffic in the country. We are extremely seasonal in character but when looking at it on a annual level we are in second place and have never been closer to Zagreb. This year we will handle 2.7 million passengers, same as Zagreb last year, and we will see how much more we will grow in the future".

Split has been the fastest growing airport in the country this year, adding an additional 298.653 passengers during the January - July period. In April alone its growth stood at 63% compared to the previous year. "In the aviation sector, 5% - 7% passenger growth on an annual basis is the norm. If you are lucky enough, you can double your numbers in about fifteen years. We have managed to achieve that in just six years, and that is a truly amazing feat. In 2010 we had barely 1.2 million passengers, while last year we ended up with 2.3 million travellers. There are few airports that can boast to be growing in the double digits for five consecutive years, and our numbers are still on an upward trajectory", Mr Novak said. In addition, Split remains Croatia's most profitable, recording a net profit of 11.5 million euros in 2016 and a turnover of 42.5 million euros. "The substantial passenger growth and the control of our expenditures has resulted in this level of profitability. We have not altered our fees over the past ten years as we do not want to jeopardise our growth with our pricing. I think this has proved worthwhile".

Commenting on the absence of the world's largest low cost airline - Ryanair - at Split Airport, Mr Novak said, "In Croatia, they [Ryanair] still operate exclusively from airports which provide support for their flights. We have held meetings with them and established contacts, however, for now, they will not come to Split as we have not changed our policy. Neither Split, nor Dubrovnik, need to stimulate carriers during the season as traffic continues to grow. That would only create a mess on the market. We are always open for talks, but we do not intend on changing our business policy". Several carriers have already announced the launch of new flights to Split next summer season, including airBaltic from Riga, Thomas Cook Airlines from London Gatwick, and Jet2 from Birmingham. easyJet remains Split's busiest airline followed by Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Split Airport new terminal building (under construction)

Split Airport is currently building a much needed new terminal building in order to ease congestion. The facility will have the capacity to handle 3.5 million passengers per year and will separate arriving and departing passengers. Furthermore, once completed, the airport will boast a new baggage sorting facility, as well as a car park and bus terminal which will have the capacity to accommodate 900 vehicles over an area of 35.500 square metres. It will be linked to the passenger terminal via a pedestrian overbridge (closed with movable steps) over the state road. The project will also include the overhaul of the existing terminal. A consortium of Croatian companies have been contracted to carry out the work, including Kamgrad and Viadukt, which were involved in the construction of Zagreb Airport's new terminal that opened earlier this year."The new terminal will be a fantastic facility which will make us proud and will meet our needs for at least the next fifteen years", Mr Novak concluded. The new terminal building is set to open its doors to the public in July 2019.