Dubrovnik Airport is facing an extremely challenging summer season with airlines continuing to cancel their operations to the city as a result of the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak and the expected decline in travel demand following the pandemic. According to General Manager Frano Luetić, the airport anticipates handling just 30% of its planned traffic this year, in the best of cases. So far, American Airlines and Qatar Airways have cancelled all of their planned operations to the coastal city for this year, while Lufthansa, airBaltic, Enter Air, Jet2, Finnair and Volotea will significantly reduce their operations. “We are witnessing something unlike we’ve ever seen in peacetime. We have been left without any traffic”, Mr Luetić said.
Dubrovnik Airport has been closed since March 19. In a statement this week it said its doors would remain shut until at least May 2. Some domestic flights are expected to resume next month, however, the majority of international services are unlikely to resume before June. The airport estimates it will register a net loss of 9.5 million euros during the first half of the year. Despite the result, none of its 387 staff members will be dismissed, although the fate of 162 seasonal workers will depend on the support the Croatian government provides to its airports as part of measures to stimulate the economy in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Dubrovnik Airport was expected to have a record summer with a 4% increase in overall operations. Instead, during the first quarter, it welcomed 72.406 travellers, down 38.6% on 2019. The airport has halted all ongoing non-essential investments for the time being but is considering the purchase of thermal cameras, which measure people’s body temperature, once it resumes operations. Tonči Peović, the General Manager of Brač Airport and one of the executive board members of the Croatian Employer’s Association has warned that the Croatian aviation industry stands to lose up to 93 million euros as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and up to 198.5 million euros in lost revenue.
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we are still at the start of the crisis with the number of infected only at about 1 to 4% in all the countries here and the health care system already struggeling;
as soon as there is more contact, infections will go up; how will there be tourism without contact? how would you operate restaurants and discos with distancing rules?
In that sense we might say Croatia will be terribly hit as the big percentage of income comes from tourism. The countries like Bosnia or N.Macedonia are here in much better position.
Also, what does mean allowing nationalities of certain country to enter and not some others? How does that make any sense?
There is no Schengen at the moment so Greece controls who enters and who dosn't. Serbs, Bulgarians, Israelis... can go in. For French, Croats, Brits, Germans... Hellenic borders will remain shut.
Austrian Airlines will have just 60 aircraft in its fleet, which is tragic compared to 82+2 that LO will have. Austrian Airlines will have massive cuts coming as not only their smallest plane will have 116 seats but the next sized aircraft will have 174.
This is truly the end of an era. Good riddance our beloved Austrian Airlines, I had great transfer flights with you. They already cut Miami in December and they announced LAX is not coming back this winter. Let's see what else will be long gone.
I heard the same from many other people that used their service.
the problem is more with the other operators: look how ryanair and wizz misused the situation and make their "employees" sign deals "voluntarily" in vienna and germany
Also, anon @ 11:02, I didn't say that they were told they CAN'T go, but they should stay. And you really think that people will be traveling as much as they did pre-corona, including Serbians?
our presi told us that he was ready to go shopping in Milan only a month ago ...
its a long way to go
At the Greek border: -Are you bothered by the CoViD-19? -No, not really. -OK, enter.