Tough start for Croatian airports

Rijeka Airport

In January, passenger numbers at Croatian airports declined significantly compared to the same month in 2009. All of the major airports, with the exception of Osijek and Rijeka saw passenger numbers slide. Zadar and Pula suffered the most with passenger numbers declining by 38.3%. Split saw 22.832 passengers, a decline of 15.7% compared to January 2009. The country’s largest airport, Zagreb, experienced a 10.4% decrease, handling 124.676 passengers last month. The reduction in passenger figures can be somewhat justified. In January 2009 Croatia hosted the World Handball Championships which caused an increase in passenger numbers. The cities that hosted the event were Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula.

On the other hand, Osijek and Rijeka, the two cities which did not host last year’s event managed to increase their passenger volume by 122.2% and 35% respectively. However, it should be noted that Osijek only handled a total of 80 passengers compared to 36 last year, explaining its remarkable growth.

Below you can view January’s 2010 results for Croatian airports:

Airport	Passengers JAN 2010	Passengers JAN 2009	Change (%)
Zagreb	124.676	139.119	▼ 10.4
Dubrovnik	17.957	18.053	▼ 0.5
Pula	1.239	2.009	▼ 38.3
Split	22.832	27.079	▼ 15.7
Zadar	1.769	2.867	▼ 34.9
Osijek	80	36	▲ 122.2
Rijeka	636	471	▲ 35.3