Dubrovnik Airport is drafting plans for the construction of a new passenger terminal due to growing traffic, as well as an increase in flights to non-EU markets, particularly following the United Kingdom’s exit from the block. “The idea for the [new] terminal came about with a certain logic. We realised that during peak months, we have significantly more passengers compared to the others, and the current space concept can hardly handle it. The airport wasn’t designed for more than five million passengers, but it was intended to accommodate them evenly throughout the year. However, we experience extremely high congestion during four to five months”, Dubrovnik Airport’s CEO, Viktor Šober, said.
Mr Šober further explained, “The situation with Brexit occurred, where we essentially had to split our terminal building, Building C, into a non-Schengen terminal and a Schengen terminal. And let’s not forget that our most important market is the United Kingdom. When the existing facility was being designed, no one anticipated Brexit, so now we find ourselves with a very small non-Schengen terminal, while the Schengen part is significantly larger, as we expected a higher number of Schengen passengers. However, due to everything that’s happened, that small terminal has now become too small, so we need to think about the future and where we can expand. We are currently in the process of developing a new master plan. This is a strategic document for the next twenty years. A new terminal is being considered, and Brexit has played a big role in this. Based on that plan, we will organise ourselves moving forward”.
Work on the new terminal isn’t expected for some time and could begin in 2026. “The master plan is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and next year we will gradually begin preparing the financial and aviation framework for the project. We anticipate that over the course of next year, we will develop the necessary steps to move towards the start of the new terminal's construction. The new terminal will be part of the existing airport complex and will be built using the airport’s own funds”, Mr Šober concluded.
London Gatwick is Dubrovnik Airport's busiest international route. If all of London's airports are taken into account, it is by far the busiest destination from the coastal city. More new routes from the United Kingdom to Croatian coastal airports are expected to be announced towards the end of next week, launching in 2025.
Busiest Dubrovnik routes, H1 2024
When was current terminal built? I remember it wasn't long ago.
ReplyDeleteOpened in 2017
DeleteThank you. Still relatively new.
DeleteWow surprised Dublin is so far up on the list of busiest routes.
ReplyDeleteHelsinki too.
DeleteDublin due to Ryanair, Helsinki due to Finnair transfers and also some Ryanair flights
DeleteAnd air lingus with transfers from USA
DeleteGood to hear. Hilarious that OU does not fly to the number one market from Dubrovnik. And then it's said it's vital for the economy and tourism.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines should pay more attention to Dubrovnik.
DeleteLON is number one route from DBV but Croatia Airlines sold its slots.
DeleteThey used to fly from LGW. If they restarted that route in the summer they could fill a220 every single day and many people would pay a little extra to fly with them if they offered better service than easyJet or BA.
DeleteAgree. I don't know why they don't try it. Or do anything that could make them a profit.
DeleteWell number one is ZAG and they fly alone on it, in comparison with LON where there are a lot of airlines.
DeleteThe UK was never in Schengen, so I'm not sure how Brexit had an impact on this? But okay, great idea
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't but UK passport holders were processed as if they were, together with Schengen passengers and the same rules applied to them.
Delete@09:13 exactly!
DeleteTrue, but you forget that UK citizens had the right to freedom of movement within the EU and vice versa. That's what they are talking about.
DeleteAnd most UK citizens realized they would no longer be treated as EU citizen at border control AFTER Brexit :)
Delete@09:13
DeleteNot quite sure about that.
Yes, UK passport holders used EU gates in the airports, just like any other EU passport holder.
But, on intra-Schengen flights, there are no passport controls gates at all, so it can’t be the same.
UK-Schengen flights always had passport checks and this did not change after Brexit, only the gate passengers with UK passports use did.
So, I don’t see how Brexit (with the assumption UK staying in EU, but outside Schengen) impacted airport layout.
No, British passport holders did not have their passports checked on departure and they used non schengen departure areas before Brexit.
DeleteSo, they showed up in Non-Schengen departure areas, where passports ARE checked, and just said that they had British passport and carried on without need to get them controlled?
DeleteCan someone explain, I don’t know for a fact how it worked, just using logic?
Anonymous11:38
DeleteNo, British passport holders did not have their passports checked on departure and they used non schengen departure areas before Brexit.
Anonymous12:08
No, they used the Schengen area. Now they no longer do.
So, which one was it? Did they use Schengen or Non-Schengen?
They used the shengen zone.
DeleteAs a British passport holder I can confirm that flights to the UK were always from non-Schengen gates and one always had to go through passport control (at any Schengen airport). The only difference pre-Brexit was that the British passports weren't stamped
DeleteSo also don't quite get the CEO's Brexit explanation
@16:19
DeleteThank you, exactly my point (11:36).
Congratulations Dubrovnik :)
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteWow. First Skopje and now dubrovnik with a master plan. Something new in the water maybe. Hopefully it will be successful for them and useful to people
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile nepotism is rife at this airport. The deputy CEO is the brother of the Prime Minister's wife
ReplyDeletehttps://www.index.hr/mobile/vijesti/clanak/zaposlena-bez-natjecaja-u-dubrovackoj-zracnoj-luci-sogor-joj-je-njonjin-pomocnik/2599801.aspx
"More new routes from the United Kingdom to Croatian coastal airports are expected to be announced towards the end of next week, launching in 2025."
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Wonder which ciies and airlines.
* cities
DeleteThe UK is about to go into a deep recession thanks to their clueless government. The UK visitors will drop significantly in 2025, you wait and see.
DeleteDream on.
DeleteUK tourists is exactly what we need. High income clients that will leave lot of money here.
@anon 10.35 The UK Labour government is far better than the crooks running Croatia
DeleteAll tourists end up leaving a lot of money in Croatia as it is such an expensive country.
DeleteIt’s a rule of the market.
DeleteWhen something is highly sought, it then costs more.
All of this airport development in Croatia is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik was always the best run airport in the country.
ReplyDeleteThe airport ... was intended to accommodate them [up to 5 million passengers] evenly throughout the year.
DeleteWho in their right mind would make that laughable assumption? Dubrovnik airport was extremely seasonal for many decades. Last expansion was completed in 2017, when airport had hundreds of thousands in Jul/Aug but only couple of thousand passengers per month in Jan/Feb. Planning airport capacity of 5 million with assumption that passengers will be handled evenly throughout the year was a horrible idea.
How big is the current DBV terminal?
ReplyDeleteCombined terminal B and C have an area of around 37,000 sqm.
DeleteCongrats. Hope for more US flights soon
ReplyDeleteThey are working on it
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/08/dubrovnik-airport-negotiating-new-long.html
Just like ZAG has been for 35 years
DeleteThe difference being that Dubrovnik already has US flights operated by United.
DeleteGreat!
ReplyDeleteWell for sure.. new mentioned routes for 2025 unlikely to include RJK which really needs more flights from UK. also PUY. this year both Easyjet from.london Gatwick and British Airways from London Heathrow. reduced frequency to Pula. Real pity. Brits will not drive more than 2 hours from zagreb to coast.. and london stansted to trieste..ryanair.. Opatija and Rovinj guests mostly don't like Ryanair.anyway we will see.
ReplyDeletePUY already has new UK routes announced for next summer
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/p/jet2-manchester-pula.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/jet2-birmingham-pula_18.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/jet2-london-stansted-pula_18.html
FR basing at 3rd plane in DBV and a 4th in ZAD in 2025 summer
DeleteNice rumors
DeleteBut EZY did add an additional flight from Bristol on a Thursday, which continues in Summer 2025. Jet2 used to fly from most of their bases to PUY before covid, and I can see this coming back in the next year or 2, once they re-establish the route from MAN, BHX & STN. What is annoying is not being able to reach PUY in the winter months as OU doesn't connect with the LHR flight, which is a pity and maybe something OU should look at, although I know the lack of slots at LHR probably doesn't help.
DeleteWill analiticar support Dubrovnik plans for the next 20 years? He was strongly against long term plans for INI airport with capacity planned for 1,5 million passengers, so DBV should look only 6-7 years ahead and expand in smaller steps.
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik is not looking years ahead, Dubrovnik is over the capacity already now. In July and August the airport is full. I flew in June and the airport was completely overcrowded
DeleteDubrovnik had less passengers in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 than in 2019. If 2017 expansion was not sufficient to handle those record 2019 numbers, there was something very wrong with planning that expansion.
DeletePrivatise the airport, take it out of the hands of government crooks and associated family members.
Delete+1 should be given up for concession.
DeleteI support more space for the flying public and growth of the economy in the xyugoslavia region...
DeleteHow many jet bridges does Dubrovnik Airport have?
ReplyDeleteFour.
DeleteTo me, DBV is efficient and modern. It was a bit busy in the departures hall but I was mid-August.
ReplyDeletevery good job, DBV both both on planned expansion and passenger numbers.
ReplyDelete