Ryanair has confirmed the end of three routes from Croatia affecting, Zagreb, Rijeka and Zadar. The airline will discontinue its seasonal service between Zagreb and Marseille after two years of operations. The route, launched in 2024, will not return for the 2026 summer season. The airline has also yet to schedule flights from the Croatian capital to Hahn and Pisa for next summer. As recently reported, Ryanair is simultaneously boosting operations on several other routes from its Zagreb base. As a result, even if services to Hahn and Pisa are not reinstated, alongside Marseille, the airline will still offer six additional weekly flights from the Croatian capital during the peak summer season compared to 2025, although April and May would have fewer operations.
On the other hand, Ryanair will push back the resumption of flights between Zagreb and Girona. The route, which launched in March 2024 and was maintained from March to October this year, is scheduled to return to the airline’s Zagreb network in June of 2026. The only route slated to see a reduction in frequencies when compared to the 2025 summer season is Baden Baden, with flights to be decreased from four to three weekly. Further changes at this early stage remain possible.
During 2026, Ryanair will enter the fifth and final year of the Growth Incentive Model it has benefited from so far at Zagreb Airport. To maintain the incentives, the airline must add at least 75.000 departing passengers during the year, with the potential for further discounts if it surpasses 150.000 additional departing passengers. This provides Ryanair with a strong incentive to increase its traffic out of the Croatian capital each year.
Ryanair is also discontinuing flights between Vienna and Rijeka after two seasons of operations. The summer service will not be restored next year and is the second destination in Croatia to be discontinued from the airline’s Vienna base amid a reduction of operations from the Austrian capital due to rising costs. As previously reported, the carrier will also end flights between Vienna and Split. The budget airline has also confirmed the end to its seasonal Zadar - Maastricht operations. The route, initially to be introduced in May 2020, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and eventually launched in July 2024.
Only six additional weekly flights to ZAG in the peak summer? Is it just me or is their growth really modest this year?
ReplyDeleteThey still haven't announced an expansion.
DeleteThey did, increases were published last week
DeleteProbably, there won't be any expansion in term of new routes. This year they launched only one new route (Palermo), while routes launched last year were not good (MRS discontinues, PSA and HHN likely to be as well, Girona decreased).
DeleteFR still hasn't announced any new routes for Croatia next year. There will definitely be new routes.
DeleteRyanair doesn't "announce extensions", it just loads flights into schedules. If they are going to add new aircraft or new routes, they will do it randomly on top of the existing schedule.
Deletecheck their instagram ... sure they announce them ...
DeleteThey also often hold press conferences to announce new routes or bases.
DeleteThey announce new routes, additions, bases etc. they don't "announce expansions" because they expand all the time. Please tell me - did they announce on Instagram when they launched Zagreb-Palermo, or when they added new flights from Vienna to Niš? I'll wait for the link, thanks
Delete^ it was published here a few days before it was put on sale.
DeleteIt will be interesting to see what happens in 2027 once those financial benefits expire.
DeleteNothing will happen. They will just extend those financial benefits.
DeleteThey’re not sentimental. If a route doesn’t hit the numbers, it’s out. But overall traffic from Zagreb is still growing, which is what matters for the airport.
DeleteSo which new routes could FR realistically launch from Zagreb?
DeleteThe incentive scheme is keeping them creative with their planning.
Delete@An.11.10
DeleteEdinburgh/Glasgow
Vilnius/Riga
LasPalmas/Tenerife
Marakesh/Agadir
Porto/Faro
Lourdes/Lyon
Hannover
Dortmund
Nuernberg
Valencia/Sevilla
Krakow
Wroclaw
Gdansk
Helsinki
Rhodes/Chania
Dubrovnik
Once the wars stop:
Lvov
Kiev
Amman/Aqaba
Dortmund was discontinued 2 years ago.
DeleteLviv was scheduled to launch in 2022 but obviously didn't due to the war.
I think next year their incentives will only be 20 - 25% max. since they've been decreasing every year of that scheme, but as it says in the article; if they add 75k+ departing passengers in 2026. the incentives will be renewed. If they add 150k+ departing passengers, they'll get even more discounts.
DeleteThey should go for Helsinki!
DeleteI wonder who said WizzAir is going bankrupt after closing Abu Dhabi base Mr. O’Leary
ReplyDeleteI 100% knew a comment like this will be one of the first to be published.
DeleteWizz closed more than just Abu Dhabi.
DeleteYes and how many more hebe they opened?
DeleteHope they will launch some new routes too.
ReplyDeleteMe too. They are now making announcements for summer.
Delete"Ryanair takes aim at Wizz Air and predicts competitor’s collapse" was yesterday btw lol
ReplyDeleteYes! Now that Vienna-Rijeka has been removed, it is clearly inevitable that Ryanair will collapse too.
DeleteO'Leary was going on about Wizz's Vienna closure yet Ryanair is also cutting Vienna big time and has threatened it will also pull out from next summer.
DeleteO'Leary is just blowing hot air. He always does that.
DeleteHe does everything for a clout and keeps making their customers fools by joking them that they are poor
DeleteIsn't it too soon to conclude this termination between Marseille and Zagreb? Pisa is the weakest FR route from Zagreb. Marseille was not that bad.
ReplyDeleteRyanair has confirmed the termination of the Marseille - Zagreb service.
DeletePisa is also definitely gone. They just can't remove it from their booking engine yet because flights are still on sale in the winter. Once the last flight operates in March, Zagreb-Pisa will be deleted from the website.
DeleteWhy they couldn't remove it from the booking engine? Nothing stops them to terminate service when they want..
DeleteBecause flights are on sale for this winter.
DeleteAnd?
DeleteAre you really that slow @10.00? They can't remove from the list the city they still sell tickets for. Because they still sell it. Is it so difficult to understand?
DeleteDelaying Girona is an excellent opportunity for Vueling to catch more Slovenian passengers in Ljubljana on route to Barcelona in early summer.
ReplyDeleteprobably is better to fly from Ljubljana to Barcelona than from Zagreb to Girona as a tourist?
DeleteGirona flights make sense if your stay is nearby, but if you plan to be in Barcelon, it's abysmal
DeleteFor sure, but I would assume some the Girona route will still be cheaper than Vueling from LJU and some Slovenes really prefer the 20 eur tickets.
Deleteits 60€ there and back from Ljubljana ... im sure thats cheap enough
Delete@9.08 knowing my fellow Slovenians, they would still fly from Zagreb to Girona (and drive to Zagreb) if it were 1 euro cheaper than Ljubljana-Barcelona.
DeleteActually that is very good sign that Croatia Airlines is winning on BCN route. Except they will keep it in the winter, summer frequencies are increased to 4 weekly
DeleteHahaha many Croats are not better. Yesterday a friend of mine (Croat living in Croatia) suggested visiting Phuket because of cheap flights from BUD. I asked him why Phuket? What's interesting there? He said it's important that flights are cheap. Just can't follow this mindset. Saving 100€ for flights and then spending 1.500€ on other costs in a destination that is not really on my bucket list.
DeleteHaha OU rules the Costa Brava.
ReplyDeleteOnly in September!
DeleteI thought you were for real. Then I saw haha in the beginning 🙂
DeleteAnd haha goes as a definition when OU is in question 🙂
DeleteGirona being pushed back likely has more to do with Ryanair's cuts in Spain. As far as I'm aware this route is operated by a Girona based plane.
ReplyDeleteYes it is, with 737
DeleteMarseille lasted longer than I expected. The French market hasn’t really taken off from Zagreb except Paris.
ReplyDeleteMRS didn't work from BEG either.
DeleteVolotea had MRS RJK as well. Cut after season or two
DeleteIt’s funny how people jump to conclusions every time Ryanair drops a few routes. They’ve done the same across Europe. Trimming underperformers and shifting capacity to stronger ones.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anyone jumping to any conclusions, neither the article or the comments.
DeleteLosing Rijeka - Vienna after one year is disappointing. It was a useful link for locals and tourists, even if operated only seasonally.
ReplyDeleteFrom my mind Vienna-Rijeka was already operated in summer 2024 too, along with Pula, if I am right.
DeleteYes it started in 2024.
DeleteAt least Zadar still has a big Ryanair presence. The Maastricht route didn’t make much sense anyway. Too niche.
ReplyDeleteZadar–Maastricht was doomed from the start. Too small a market and too close to other destinations like Eindhoven and Dusseldorf Weeze.
DeleteRyanair is closing its Maastricht/Aachen base next year- that is why ZAD is affected.
DeleteThey never had a base in Maastricht
Deleteok then they withdrew from that airport altogether for whatever reason. But that is a fact.
DeleteRyanair keeps juggling routes but still manages to grow overall.
ReplyDeleteIf Ryanair drops Hahn and Pisa, I hope we’ll see replacements to Italy and Germany. Those are key markets for Croatian travellers and diaspora.
ReplyDeleteGirona starting only in June is odd. What’s stopping them from starting earlier?
ReplyDeleteRyanair announced that it would cut over one million seats from flights to and from Spain
DeleteThis is an affect from the reductions in Spain. Of course it will always affect two markets then.
DeletePisa is quite affordable and convenient. Hopefully they’ll in the summer schedule.
ReplyDeleteMore to come unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteyes, ZAG-PSA
DeleteMarseille gone, Pisa uncertain, Hahn missing. Ryanair is pruning weaker routes while strengthening the big ones.
DeleteYes FR must cancel in Germany to show that their business model does not work with the high taxes in Germany. Once those taxes are lowered flights will come back.
DeleteSo so far 4 FR routes cancelled from Croatia if we include Vienna-Split.
ReplyDeleteRyanair giveth and Ryanair taketh away.
DeleteWell people should remember this is how Ryanair operates everywhere. Constant finetuning. Some routes will always be seasonal casualties.
DeleteEvery time Ryanair announces cuts, people panic. But somehow, the total seat count in Croatia still goes up.
DeleteThat's how everyone operates in their bases, Croatia Airlines included, as well as Air Serbia or Wizz. I think all of them finetuned this year even more than Ryan is doing now...
DeleteAt least they’re still adding flights overall, but it’s a pity to lose some of the more interesting destinations.
ReplyDeleteI was actually planning to visit Marseille next summer because of this flight! Guess I’ll be connecting somewhere now.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time we used to rely on Croatia Airlines for all connections
DeleteVienna–Rijeka ending is more about Vienna than Rijeka.
ReplyDeleteCollateral damage, as all other destinations operated from their Vienna base...
Delete11.45
DeleteIs Ryanair/Lauda ending all flights from Vienna?
Are you aware RJK lost recently Tel Aviv, Oslo, Riga, Hannover, Warsaw, Sczeczin, Bergamo, Basel, Marseilles, Heathrow, Gatwick, Barcelona, Kosice....Are those above also more about Vienna than about Rijeka?
Unfortunately the management at Rijeka is terrible
DeleteThey already know where they'll be flying next summer? Such weird business...
ReplyDeleteNot really. They are far from finalizing their summer timetable.
DeleteThey haven't even finalised winter in some cities let alone summer.
DeleteA lot too bad! Puno preloše!
ReplyDeleteEnormously lot too bad!
DeletePuno previše preloše! 🙂
Ma kajgot! 😀
DeleteEdinburgh or Glasgow please for new routes, it would be a game changer. Can't see why so much frequency to London but not more places in the UK. ZAG - EDI would be a popular route in both directions, two lovely capital cities to explore. Win-Win.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteZagreb could do with more UK routes. There is solid demand and they could catch some of the Slovenia bound traffic too.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely
DeleteI'm a bit surprised there are no changes to their Dubrovnik base. I mean it's great nothing is being suspended or discontinued but generally no new routes since the base opened.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how many planes Ryanair has based in Zadar and Dubrovnik? I know Zagreb is 4.
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik is 2. Zadar has more flights than ZAG but don't know how many are operated by aircraft from other bases. It might be 3, 4 or 5, but don't know exactly. Maybe somebody knows
DeleteI think there are 3 planes in ZAD
Delete