The construction of Split Airport's new multi million euro terminal is progressing on schedule, with the facility expected to open to the public in July 2019. The car park and bus terminal, which will have the capacity to accommodate 900 vehicles over an area of 35.500 square metres, have already been completed, while a pedestrian overbridge (closed with movable steps) linking the area with the terminal building over the state road is currently under construction. Furthermore, the new terminal building is already taking shape. It is situated between the existing terminal on the east side and the existing apron on the west side. The east part of the structure will be a compact glazed cube, with a flat and partly glazed roof. It will have a basement, ground floor, first floor, and a gallery.
The new terminal building will feature thirty check-in desks, six gates, a new automated baggage sorting facility and five carousels, while the gallery will boast restaurants, an observation deck and the business class lounge. The main, first, floor will be circular in shape with natural sunlight coming in from glass sections on the roof. The overhaul of the existing terminal building will commence once the new one is completed and opened. The old terminal will be joined with the new facility to form a single unit and will be used by non-schengen zone passengers. Furthermore, Split Airport plans to overhaul its runway, build a parallel taxiway and expand the apron in 2019, which should reduce congestion.
General Manager Lukša Novak notes that all the work is being funded through the airport's own means. The state has exempted the airport from paying tax on profit, which will help it fund part of the investment. The new terminal is valued at 59.4 million euros. Mr Novak adds that the airport has no ambitions to surpass Zagreb Airport's passenger numbers to become the country's busiest, even though it is getting close to doing so. In addition, the airport won't encourage airlines to operate night flights once it opens for 24-hour use next year, nor will it seek transatlantic services. "We want to be an effective regional airport. We need to work to stimulate traffic in the winter months. Our fees, which have not been modified for the past ten years and should stay the same for at least another two, are fair. No carrier has special treatment", Mr Novak notes.
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wow fantastic work Split. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSomething is missing in the comment section here. What is it - hint: starts with "Bravo..."
DeleteFinally after so many years of delays. Can't wait to see the finished product.
ReplyDeleteIt will be a nice glass terminal. Excellent job to have three of the country's busiest airports brand new and modern.
DeleteI must say that the plans and also the progress they now have (finally) made all looks very nice however I personally had preferred if they built the new adjacent terminal exactly in the very beautiful timeless style of the old one (I mean the outside of the terminal and facade). It has glass but also the very pretty white pavilions everywhere!
DeleteIt's pretty disappointing to read that they have no plans to attract TATL flights.
ReplyDeleteThey might not have plans but airlines may come to them. They don't say they would turn them away.
DeleteAs a triangle may be when new taxiways are built.
DeleteI am sure they won't complain once airlines start regular flights at night, TATL seasonal flights or charters or if SPU becomes the busiest airport in HR. Also sure they won't turn airlines away.
DeleteI just have a feeling the GM makes these comments as it is an agreement with the government for them to get exempted from taxes that they must not claim their full ambitions as to protect ZAG and not to have a too harsh rivalry between ZAG and Dalmatian airports. I have no proof of course, but this is the way it looks and sounds to me.
Don't be stupid. ZAG, of course applaud that SPU expand. Same with SPU to ZAG expand. That is god for Croatia.
DeleteSPU has no ambition of TATL flights because its runway is 2.500 m what is not enough for long-haul planes. And to invest in longer runway is stupid, no economical sense, for possible one or two seasonal flights in future.
And for sure Croatian government will never "protect" ZAG, and will ask SPU to slow grow. That will never happen in Croatia.
Look just at Croatian industries and economy. No matter what is concerned in 4 out of 5 cases Zagreb and North is favoured over the South / Dalmatia. It does not sound believable that Zagreb is not protected.
DeleteAmazing SPU.
ReplyDeleteEx YUs busiest airport. Go Croatia
Ex YUs busiest airport is Belgrade.
DeleteAnd then Zagreb. Split still has a way to go.
DeleteMonth of July SPU top the charts. Busiest ever of any airport in the ex YU in history. Amazing growth and continued amazing results at SPU
DeleteThat's different from what Ant8 said.
DeleteWhat is truly amazing in SPU is that they always manage to handle enormous crowds throughout the summer months with such small capacity, and modtly handle it very well without delays - small terminal, small apron, almost no taxiways etc. And then they handle 20 737/321 aircraft movements (landings+deps) or 4000 pax in an hour which would be impossible at many other much larger airports.
DeleteChapot big time!
+1, that's right
DeleteCongratulations Split. Looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThis is really overdue. It will be one tough summer at SPU this year with so much traffic. Summer 2019 can't come soon enough.
ReplyDeleteIt was a madhouse this year, and I can only imagine next.
DeleteHard opening of T2 in the peak of the 2019 season will be challenging..?
DeleteActually it was all much better organized this year compared to last two years in summer. Less queues even on Saturday departures, finally all security lines open and all passport controls open, quicker boarding process, too. They have clearly improved and use more staff now.
DeleteSo it will have the same number of check in desks and conveyor belts as ZAG airport.
ReplyDeleteWell it has more traffic than Zagreb fro around 7 months of the year so it's logical.
Delete... and more P2P travel
DeleteI think the majority of Split's traffic is point to point.
DeleteAt the end of 2018 SPU will be the busiest airport so it makes sense.
DeleteStop trolling. It won't. You know it, we know it.
DeleteYou do know SPU was the busiest in the country since like June? They still are.
DeleteYes, but they are "dead" now from End of Oct till 31/Dec. ZAG overtakes them very easily in the last two months of a year
DeleteYes but the growth next year will be too great for them to actually catch up
DeleteThat is not true. SPU has more passengers in June, July, August and September than ZAG. In July even more than BEG. Bud from October to May ZAG has more passengers. So, it is 4 not 7 months. You should stop trolling.
DeleteSo I am trolling because I am saying that SPU is currently number one in the country? What drugs are you on? It's a fact, SPU will be number one next year, mark my words.
DeleteI think not everyone knows the meaning of the word "fact". Thought it is a North American problem though. We all know Split was busiest airport in Croatia a few months in summer. The fact is we do not know for sure which airport in 2018 will be the busiest in Croatia next year but all indicators suggest that it will again be Zagreb. The gap is too large on 31.Dec!
DeleteCestitke
ReplyDeletePity that the new terminal won’t have air bridges. Would have fit the glass exterior well but I do like the way it looks.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a very nice project although I do agree they could have added two air bridges maybe. It's an additional source of revenue.
DeleteI think the problem with fitting the air bridges like everything else at Split is lack of space.
DeleteOkay but Split really doesn't need the jet bridges. With them handling so many planes simultaneously it would be a major drawback. If pax walk 20 metres to board, it enables them to always board through both front and backbexit of the aircrafts doubling the speed of deboarding and boarding. I am certain that they discussed building bridges but voted against it for this very reason. Cost of more delays would outweigh the extra income.
DeleteGood work for SPU.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they won't shut down the current terminal once the new one is completed and will just reconstruct it.
ReplyDeleteThey should have done the same in ZAG.
DeleteWhy? The new terminal is big enough to accommodate the traffic plus, unlike in Split, it is not close to the new terminal at all.
DeleteThat said, they could the old terminal for low cost airlines.
DeleteI actually find it very interesting what they say. The existing terminal will be used for non Schengen. So the new terminal will be fully designed for intra-Schengen ops only. So it means they will have major trouble if the new terminal is ready but if Croatia would not be part of the Schengen zone by mid 2019.
DeleteExactly my thoughts. One can only hope that they will design the new terminal in a way which will allow them to temporarily accommodate Schengen passengers... otherwise major trouble might occur since Croatia for sure won't join Schengen until 2019.
DeleteIn this context Schengen is meant as EU country members, what croatia is. Furthermore, there are few Schengen conventions which are complemented in EU law and by that actual in Croatian law. Yes croatia still is not member in context of moving inside-eu borders
DeleteThe new terminal will be fully operational regardless of whether Croatia joins the Schengen by 2019. or not, because that's just a matter of designating a terminal for intra-Schengen passengers once there's a need for it. At that point you simply free up part of the staff that would otherwise be working in customs and border control at the new terminal.
DeleteQuestion is how much customs area and passport checks are planned in the new terminal - regarding these two there is no difference whatsoever if the flight is intra-EU but the big difference is regarding Schengen to Non-Schengen country.
DeleteSounds like a decent and realistic guy this Novak. Look forward to 2019 when I will be back to SPU
ReplyDeleteBtw the airport motorway road fm the city to Kastela is now all the way to the airports two laned and completed too. Just fm the exit to the airport leads a one lane road ca 2km through Kastela to the airport
The highway is great, but the speed limit and number of traffic lights reduce the benefits significantly.
DeleteA tunnel from the motorway to the airport would have been more useful, like Makarska/baska Voda- particularly as most of pax are tourist and they do not stay only in Split, Kaštela or Trogir.
DeleteVucevica to Kastel Kambelovac - you would only need 1,5km of tunnel!
DeleteThe way the results are going they will need a new terminal again in a few years.
ReplyDeleteWho says they didnt leave room for enlargements?
DeleteAfter T2 the most important step will be improving the air side.
DeleteWithout runway/ramp capacity you don't need T capacity..
Admine, very nice and interesting article.
ReplyDeleteI would have an idea for a future article on Split. I am missing lots of informations on things such as the future development plans, aprons, new taxiways, lengthening and overhaul of the runway, what will be done with the ECA water airport, ... What else except the terminal is planned at SPU - and by when? At what costs? And also, no word on the plan of a new airport behind the mountain - is that project dead? Are they waiting for someone to finance it? Would it be additional to the existing SPU airport or as a replacement? Who is behind these new airport plans and how realistic is it and in which timeframe (maybe an interview with people in charge of it is possible)? Etc.
I must admit there would be a lot of research necessary for all of this but I really think there would be an enormous interest for this.
Thanks for all your great and dedicated work, as always!
OT: Not bad with Zagreb airport, Oct 2017 +17% more passengers
ReplyDeletewow, just 10% less pax than in Sep.
DeleteAlso regarding the suspending Monarch flights really great result.
Air Transat will be using A330-300 (instead of 330-200) on their flights to ZAG in S18, some flights will have stops in Montreal!
DeleteAll the airport investment in Croatia is really impressive. Well done.
ReplyDeleteHow many gates has SPU now?
ReplyDeleteI think 9?
DeleteAnd the new building will get only 6 although it is bigger than the old building? How is this possible? But it’s nice to see that SPU will has cca. 15 gates
DeleteIndeed. That's surprisingly a small number of gates in the new terminal. Especially with the planned majority of traffic (Schengen) to fly from the new facility. Strange.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDelete