Flight delays and cancelations at Croatia Airlines

Croatia Airlines has been forced to cancel many of its flights today as the union of Croatia Airlines pilots, cabin crew, airline technicians and the “Novi sindikat” planned to begin a 24 hour strike. However, late last night they announced they were cancelling today’s strike. Nevertheless all of the planned flight cancellations remain in place. Despite spending over a year discussing the terms of their collective agreements with the airline’s management, no solution has been found. Today's strike was only supposed to be a warning to the management and further industrial action could be taken in the coming months if no agreement is reached. Despite the fact that the strike was supposed to last from 06.00 this morning until 06.00 tomorrow morning, the Croatian national carrier was forced to cancel its evening service to Sarajevo yesterday, since the aircraft would be unable to return to Zagreb in the morning and several flights will be cancelled tomorrow as well. Furthermore, passengers can expect delays on early morning flights tomorrow until operations resume to their full capacity.

The unions note that Croatia Airlines will be operating 80% of its scheduled services. Today, the airline has cancelled its flights to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, Dubrovnik, Split, Rome, Priština, Vienna, Munich, Pula, Zadar, Sarajevo and Skopje. As a result, return flights from Pula, Zadar, Sarajevo and Skopje, which are scheduled to operate on March 9 have also been cancelled. It should be noted that on some of these destinations, Croatia Airlines operates more than one daily flight and in most cases only one of the daily flights has been cancelled.

Croatia Airlines’ management is fuming over the planned walk out by staff saying that the industrial action is unnecessary. It has been further angered after employees said that they wouldn't strike with the airline unable to resume normal operations today. The carrier claims that the terms set out by the unions go against the airline’s cost cutting measure while seven of the eleven conditions set out by the unions go against Croatia’s state laws. Furthermore, the management says the strike will cost the airline 200.000 euros. Croatia Airlines is offering passengers the opportunity to be either rebooked on other flights or compensated to the full amount of their ticket price. Latest strike details can be found on the carrier’s website here. Those interested in viewing the collective agreement from 2011 that unions want to be changed can view it here (PDF document - in Croatian).

Soon in Belgrade

The Croatian national carrier will compete against Jat Airways on the Split - Belgrade service this summer season, a source close to the airline says. Croatia Airlines has applied for a license from the Serbian Aviation Directorate. The flights will replace last year’s summer service from Dubrovnik to Belgrade. They are to be operated by the Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.

This summer season, Jat Airways will operate two weekly flights between the Serbian capital and Split. In 2011, the two airlines went head to head on the Belgrade - Dubrovnik line twice per week. The Serbian national carrier on average, per flight, carried approximately 45 passengers on its 66 seat ATR72, while an average of 30 passengers chose Croatia Airlines. However, flights were sold out during peak season. So far, Jat has been selling return tickets for its Split service at a price of between 113 and 130 euros.

This summer will see the most air links between Croatia and Serbia since the breakup of Yugoslavia, with services between Pula, Split, Dubrovnik and Belgrade. During the 1980s the Belgrade - Dubrovnik flights were JAT Yugoslav Airlines’ most popular with thousands of passenger per year.

UPDATE

Since the publication of this news item Croatia Airlines has officially confirmed it will launch services between Split and Belgrade, twice per week, every Monday and Friday from June 1. Flight details can be viewed here.

Dubrovnik underperforms as other airports grow

In the first month of 2012, the airports in Zagreb and Dubrovnik saw passenger numbers slide after a record breaking 2011. Other airports in Croatia managed to record passenger growth.

Croatia’s busiest airport Zagreb welcomed 131.068 passengers, a decrease in of 5.6% compared to the same month last year. Zagreb’s slow start was followed by a significant fall in the number of transit passengers passing through the airport. Dubrovnik, which was Croatia’s second busiest airport in 2011 and the fifth busiest in the former Yugoslavia, saw an even bigger decline than its counterpart in Zagreb. Dubrovnik handled 17.843 compared to 21.288 passengers in 2011, a decrease of almost 20%.

Other airports in Croatia had better luck with Split, Pula, Zadar and Osijek all recording a passenger growth. Split’s numbers were better than those of Dubrovnik as the airport welcomed 24.678 passengers through its doors. Pula Airport will be content with its January performance as it recorded a passenger increase of 24.2%. Both Rijeka and Brač airports saw triple digit growth but together handled only 47 passengers.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in January 2012. Overall, Croatian airports handled 176.929 passengers, a decrease of 5.6% compared to January 2011. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers JAN 2012	Passengers JAN 2011	Change (%)
Zagreb	131.068	138.370	▼ 5.6
Dubrovnik	17.843	21.288	▼ 19.3
Split	24.678	24.428	▲ 1.1
Zadar	2.216	1.848	▲ 16.6
Pula	995	754	▲ 24.2
Rijeka	31	11	▲ 64.5
Osijek	56	35	▲ 60.0
Brač	16	1	▲ 1500.0
Mali Lošinj	26	72	▼ 63.9

Adria soon to Split as government plans to save Tehnika

Adria Airways will be operating charter flights out of Split this summer. The Slovenian carrier will operate a one weekly service from Split to the city of Lulea, on Sweden’s northern coast. Adria will launch the service on May 12 with a CRJ900. Flights will operate until September 29. Dubrovnik Airline was supposed to operate the route to Luela as it was selected by the tour operator last year, however, the airline ceased operations at the end of 2011. Flight details for the Lulea service can be found here. Adria Airways operated charter flights out Split to Kristiansand in Norway last summer, although the service is not set to resume this summer season.

Meanwhile, the new Slovenian government is planning to provide a cash injection to Adria Airways Tehnika, which was left reeling after the collapse of its second largest customer Spanair. According to the “Finance” portal, the Slovenian government will provide between two and three million Euros to the maintenance company owned by Ljubljana Airport and the government run asset management firm PDP.

Recently, employees at Adria Tehnika agreed to a 20% reduction in salaries as the company battles with debt, made worse by Spanair’s bankruptcy. Tehnika is hoping to replace Spanair through new contracts with Wizz Air and Air Berlin. The company was previously an Adria Airways subsidiary but was separated from the airline as a part of the carrier’s financial restructuring process.

easyjet dumps Dortmund service

The low cost airline easyJet will suspend its flights from Dortmund to Zagreb from May 20, leaving the no frills carrier only with services from London Gatwick to the Croatian capital. The flights from Dortmund in western Germany operated twice per week over the winter and will increase to three weekly flights from March 25 until their suspension two months later. It follows a decision made by easyJet in December last year to terminate flights from Paris to both Zagreb and Ljubljana. Germany has the most flights and seat capacity out of Zagreb.

It will be the second time Zagreb has lost a link to Dortmund. Previously, in 2010, Wizz Air scheduled flights from Dortmund to Zagreb but cancelled the route. The news will be warmly welcomed by Croatia Airlines which has previously accused Zagreb Airport of giving special waivers to low cost airlines operating to the airport. It even threatened to suspend routes on which it competed with low cost airlines. In late 2010 Tonči Peović, the head of Zagreb Airport, told the press that he offered easyJet to operate flights to Zagreb out of six different cities, although the airline settled only for Paris and London and later introduced Dortmund. easyJet will maintain five weekly flights between London Gatwick and Zagreb over the coming summer.

Despite pulling out on the Dortmund - Zagreb service, easyJet will launch several seasonal flights to both Dubrovnik and Split. They include flights to Dubrovnik from Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Rome, Geneva, Paris and London as well as flights to Split from Amsterdam, Berlin, Bristol, Geneva, London, Milan, Paris and Rome.

Croatia Airlines launches new seasonal and summer flights

Croatia Airlines will launch new seasonal flights from Rijeka to Barcelona and Zadar to Frankfurt. The flights from Rijeka to Barcelona will launch on June 5, becoming Croatia Airlines’ second destination from the city. It will accompany the existing seasonal service to London Heathrow Airport. Flights to Barcelona will operate once per week with an Airbus A319 until October 23. Details can be found here. Croatia Airlines will also inaugurate flights from Zadar to Frankfurt on April 27. However, the Croatian carrier will have to compete on the line with Ryanair, although the no frills airline offers flights to the distant Hahn Airport. Flights to Frankfurt will run until the end of the summer season twice per week. All flight information can be found here.

After intense criticism from the airline’s pilots union for suspending summer charters in the past few years, the airline’s management has decided to resume them in 2012. Croatia Airlines plans to operate summer charters from Split to both Kristiansand and Kristiansund in Norway and Erfurt in Germany. Furthermore, the airline will also inaugurate charters from Zagreb and Osijek to Antalya in Turkey.

In 2011, Croatia Airlines saw record passenger numbers and is hoping to maintain the growth in 2012. However, in December the airline saw a surprising slump in passenger numbers. The carrier welcomed 98.800 passengers onboard, down 4.3% on December 2010. January 2012 results are yet to be announced.

Flight delays and cancelations across EX-YU

UPDATED 21.00 CET

Snowstorms, fog and freezing weather have disrupted flight operations across the former Yugoslavia. Podgorica has been closed on and off for the past three days while Sarajevo Airport closed its doors this morning until 20.00 CET. In Belgrade meanwhile, the airport was evacuated when an anonymous call came that there was a bomb on board Air France's jet, which turned out to be false.

Both snow and fog are proving to be a problem at Sarajevo Airport. Sarajevo closed this morning with all departures cancelled for the day. Nearly all flights from Sarajevo were cancelled yesterday as well. Only early morning departures and B&H Airlines’ flights to Zurich and Istanbul were unaffected. Austrian was forced to divert its evening Sarajevo service to Belgrade. Operations resumed in the evening hours with Austrian, Jat and Croatia Airlines performing their flights as normal.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport saw short delays throughout the day however there was some panic after an anonymous phone caller said there was a bomb onboard an Air France jet which was being prepared for its return flight to Paris. The airport was forced to evacuate and the flight cancelled although no bomb was found. The caller, a 62 year old from Bor, was later arrested. He said he was “only having some fun”. It was later disclosed that the man in question is mentally challenged.

In Montenegro, most flights to and from Podgorica Airport have been cancelled for the last three days due to heavy snowfall. There is now a big backlog of passengers on the Podgorica - Belgrade - Podgorica service with both Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airways cancelling most flights between the two cities. The two airlines attempted to operate flights to Tivat yesterday but before making their descent into the coastal city were forced to turn back to Belgrade. In order to clear the backlog of passengers Jat planned to operate an early morning service to the Montenegrin capital at 4.40 today but has cancelled the flight.

In Skopje, Priština and Ljubljana, flights have been operating normally (other than those to Montenegro) although all with an average forty minute delay. Out of all the airports in the former Yugoslav region, Zagreb was operating most smoothly with nearly all flights taking off from the airport yesterday, registering only minor delays. Split Airport has been closed due to snow and extreme winds reaching up to 180 kilometres per hour.

All of Eastern Europe is grappling with a Siberian freeze which is spreading westwards. Freezing conditions, which have claimed hundreds of lives across the continent, are set to persist for days to come.

Priština overtakes Ljubljana as third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia

Priština has finished 2011 as the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, for the first time since it opened its doors in 1965. The dethroned Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport fell into fourth place with Dubrovnik Airport hot on its heels. A total of six airports managed to handle more than one million passengers.

Ljubljana Airport was affected by Adria Airways’ crisis last year and its significant reduction of flights, which were felt during the months of August, November and December. Since January the airport has recorded declining or break even numbers compared to those from 2010, with the exception of April when the airport saw significant growth. As a result, Slovenia’s capital city airport welcomed just under 1.370.000 passengers, a decrease of 1.3% compared to 2010. It should be taken into account that Ljubljana was closed for almost an entire month in 2010. Since 2008, when Ljubljana saw record traffic by handling 1.673.050 passengers, its figures have steadily decreased each year. Ljubljana Airport expects lower traffic volumes and revenue in 2012. Still, the airport says that Adria’s decline should be substituted by foreign airlines and charter flights this year.

Priština Airport handled 1.422.302 passengers, an increase of almost 9%. The three busiest airlines operating out of Priština were Edelweiss, Adria Airways and Belle Air. The most popular destinations out of the city were Zurich, Vienna and Dusseldorf. As has previously been reported, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is well ahead of its competition and in 2011 strengthened its position as the busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia. Other notable achievements were recorded by Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Skopje, Ohrid and Tivat. Joining Ljubljana as the only EX-YU capital city airport to see its figures decline in 2011 was Podgorica.

Below you can review the number of handled passengers by the ten busiest airports in the former Yugoslavia in 2011:

Airport	Passengers 2011	Passengers 2010	Change (%)
Belgrade	3.124.633	2.698.730	▲ 15.8
Zagreb	2.319.098	2.071.561	▲ 11.9
Priština	1.422.302	1.305.532	▲ 8.9
Ljubljana	1.370.000	1.388.651	▼ 1.3
Dubrovnik	1.349.501	1.270.062	▲ 6.3
Split	1.300.381	1.219.741	▲ 8.1
Skopje	759.928	681.080	▲ 11.6
Tivat	647.169	542.000	▲ 19.4
Podgorica	611.666	651.478	▼ 6.1
Sarajevo	599.996	563.266	▲ 6.5

More flights from Belgrade to Croatia

Jat Airways is making further changes to its upcoming seasonal flights to the Croatian coast. The airline has increased the number of weekly flights from Belgrade to Dubrovnik to three per week, from the original two flights planned. The service from Belgrade to Dubrovnik turned out to be successful for the airline when they were resumed last year after a twenty year suspension. Furthermore, Jat is expected to be the sole operator on the route in 2012 as Croatia Airlines is unlikely to resume the flights, although no firm decision has been made yet. The revised details for the service, which launches June 15, can be found here.

The Serbian carrier has also made changes to its two weekly Pula service, which is now set to begin on June 2 rather than a month later as originally planned. Flights to Split, which will be resumed after 21 years remain unchanged and are set to be inaugurated on July 3.

Back in 1963

Besides flights to Croatia, Jat will be operating seasonal flights to London Gatwick and Ohrid this summer. It is unsure whether the airline will resume its seasonal flights to Girona in Spain which it launched over the summer of 2011, proving popular with passengers. Jat plans to operate its 2012 summer network with 13 out of its 14 member fleet.

Passenger plunge at Dubrovnik Airport

Despite a record breaking year for most Croatian airports, growth somewhat slowed in November compared to the same month last year. The number of passengers using Croatia’s main airports decreased by half of a percent compared to the same month last year.

Zagreb Airport, which launched a new look website earlier this week, continued to report positive figures by handling 156.755 passengers, up 3.2%. Overall, growth this year has amounted to 8% with 2.083.366 passengers passing through its doors. In November, Zagreb was joined by Split, Rijeka and Mali Lošinj as the other airports also to record growth. In Rijeka it amounted to 753% with the airport handling 111 passengers (up from 13 last year), while growth at Mali Lošinj reached 304% with 97 passenger welcomed.

On the other hand, Dubrovnik saw disappointing results. The coastal airport handled 26.007 passengers, down 20.3% on last year. Numbers were also down in Pula which saw only 1.051 passengers.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in November 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 212.410 passengers, a decrease of 0.5% compared to November 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers NOV 2011	Passengers NOV 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	156.755	151.908	▲ 3.2
Dubrovnik	26.007	32.626	▼ 20.3
Pula	1.051	1.201	▼ 12.5
Split	26.666	25.905	▲ 2.9
Zadar	1.657	1.672	▼ 0.9
Osijek	66	130	▼ 49.2
Rijeka	111	13	▲ 753.9
Mali Lošinj	97	24	▲ 304.2

Soon in Dubrovnik

S7 Airlines and Malmo Aviation have announced flights to the Croatian coast next summer, while Belle Air Europe will be launching another destination from Priština, thus strengthening its base.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Croatia has sharply increased over the past few years and Russian carriers are looking to cash in. S7 Airlines has announced that it will launch flights from Moscow Domodedovo Airport to Dubrovnik from June 7, with a one weekly flight. The service will compete against Aeroflot which will operate daily flights to Dubrovnik (up from three weekly this year) from June 1, although services originate from its base at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Furthermore, S7 will resume flights from Moscow to Split, which were launched during the 2011 summer season, with an added weekly service, totalling to two per week. Flight details for the Moscow Domodedovo - Dubrovnik flights can be found here. Meanwhile, Malmo Aviation will launch services from Billund in Denmark to Split. Flights will operate from June 23 once per week with details available here.

Belle Air Europe plans to inaugurate flights from Priština to Hannover in Germany next summer. It will be the fourteenth destination to be served by Belle Air from Priština. Flights are set to take off in late June. Belle Air is fast becoming the most dominant airline at Priština Airport. Since Belle Air (which operates flights from Priština to Switzerland) and its subsidiary Belle Air Europe are coded as separate airlines they have been recorded as the third and fourth busiest airlines operating out of Priština in 2011 respectively. However, if the two are combined they are ahead of competition with a 19% share of flights from the city, in front of Adria’s 15% and Austrian’s 12%. Several days ago the Swiss based Helvetic Airways launched services from Priština to Bern. After Germany, Switzerland is the biggest market out of Priština Airport.

Rijeka Airport most improved in October

In October Zagreb Airport surpassed the two million passenger mark by handling 208.384 passengers, an increase of 11.3% compared to the same month last and thus handled 2.083.384 passengers in the first ten months of the year. Zagreb is on target to reach its best result in history since it opened its doors in 1962.

There was also good news for all of Croatia’s other major airports in October as well. Dubrovnik handled 107.546 passengers, an increase of 4.5% and has so far welcomed 1.287.991 passengers. Split also did well standing at 92.698 passenger, up 8.3% on October 2010. The most improved airport in the month of October compared to last was Rijeka, which saw passenger figures rise by 52%. Also worth mentioning is Pula, which with 15.415 passengers improved its result by 43.9%. The busiest airports in 2011 after Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split are Pula, Zadar and Rijeka.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in October 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 459.538 passengers, an increase of 9.7% compared to October 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers OCT 2011	Passengers OCT 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	208.384	187.286	▲ 11.3
Dubrovnik	107.546	102.963	▲ 4.5
Pula	15.415	10.714	▲ 43.9
Split	92.698	85.592	▲ 8.3
Zadar	26.587	25.590	▲ 3.9
Osijek	2.697	2.311	▲ 16.7
Rijeka	5.503	3.620	▲ 52.0
Mali Lošinj	230	217	▲ 6.0

Like old times … Jat to Pula, Dubrovnik and Split

Jat Airways has announced that it will launch flights to Split and Pula next summer and will resume its seasonal service to Dubrovnik which was launched during this year’s summer season. Flights to the Pearl of the Adriatic will resume on June 15, flights to Pula will commence on July 2 and services to Split will be inaugurated on July 3. All of the abovementioned routes will operate two times per week using the regional ATR72. Jat had major success with its Dubrovnik route over the summer, despite direct competition from Croatia Airlines, with the load factor often exceeding 90%.

Jat resumed flights to Pula after seventeen years in 2008 as a seasonal service. Due to bureaucratic bungling between the two countries the route was not resumed a year later. Flights to Pula will now operate every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. Details can be found here.

The Serbian national carrier will link Belgrade and Split for the first time in almost 21 years. JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated its final service between Belgrade and Croatia’s second largest city on August 6, 1991. Jat will serve Split every Tuesday and Thursday. Details can be found here. Services to Dubrovnik will operate on the same days and at the same times as it had over the 2011 summer season.

Zagreb Airport strike

Major delays are expected today at Zagreb Airport as employees launch a five hour strike from 11.00 to 16.00 CET. All flights set to depart during these hours will be affected, according to the workers union. A fresh 24 hour strike will be launched on Monday, closing Zagreb Airports' doors. Employees are unhappy with worker rights, low pay and a future concession.

New flights to Zageb, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik

The German national carrier Lufthansa will be introducing several new services to Croatia next summer season. From its new base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport the airline will launch flights to Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik. Additionally, Lufthansa will also inaugurate new flights from Frankfurt to Dubrovnik. It marks one of the biggest expansions undertaken by Lufthansa on the Croatian market. Germany continues to be the lead country market out of Croatia.

Services from Berlin to Zagreb will commence on June 3, 2012 when the new airport opens its doors. Flights will operate four times per week with an Airbus A319. Flight details can be found here. Lufthansa, together with its low cost subsidiary Germanwings, will cement its position as the second busiest airline operating out of the Croatian capital after Croatia Airlines. Besides the addition of Berlin, the two airlines offer flights from Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and Cologne. As a result of Lufthansa’s new Berlin flights, Germanwings will terminate its service from Berlin’s Schonefeld Airport.

The German national carrier will also operate flights from Berlin to Dubrovnik and Zadar once per week from June 9 and a three weekly service to Split starting June 7. The airline will complete its expansion with a one weekly flight from Frankfurt to Dubrovnik, operated by an Embraer E190 jet.

Croatian airports record growth in September

Last week Zagreb surpassed the two million passengers mark, an impressive 48 days ahead of last year. The passenger was travelling from Zagreb to Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight. In September, Zagreb saw 240.805 passengers, an increase of 12.6% compared to last year.

Elsewhere in Croatia, Dubrovnik and Split both recorded a passenger increase compared to September 2010. The two have handled a total of 2.307.811 passengers this year and during November managed to surpass the end of year result from last year. Pula also recorded a passenger increase with the airport seeing almost 8% more passengers this year compared to last. With 886 passengers at Mali Lošinj this September, the airport grew 82.3%.

On the other hand, Zadar is continuing to record a passenger slump. Numbers fell by 3.5%, although so far this year the airport has seen growth of some 3%. Osijek handled 2.475 passengers, which is down on last September. Osijek Airport won’t see any scheduled flights until the end of the year, meaning its figures will significantly decline from now until March 2012.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in September 2011. OveSeptember 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers SEP 2011	Passengers SEP 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	240.805	213.876	▲ 12.6
Dubrovnik	203.360	187.630	▲ 8.4
Pula	55.763	52.770	▲ 5.7
Split	182.459	171.066	▲ 6.7
Zadar	36.928	38.266	▼ 3.5
Osijek	2.475	2.821	▼ 12.8
Rijeka	13.557	9.870	▲ 37.4
Mali Lošinj	886	486	▲ 82.3

Rijeka Airport sees largest passenger growth in 2011

Most of Croatia’s airports maintained passenger growth throughout August. Rijeka continued its comeback, Zagreb saw solid growth while both Zadar and Osijek saw numbers slide.

In August, Zagreb handled 249.159 passengers, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same month last year. So far in 2011, Croatia’s busiest airport has handled 1.568.005 passengers, an impressive surge of 14.2%. However, growth in Dubrovnik slowed with numbers increasing only 1% despite an increase in the number of flight being operated to and from the airport. In the first eight months of the year Dubrovnik has welcomed 977.085 passengers while Split saw 944.907. With 18.282 passengers, Rijeka Airport enjoyed a 35% increase. So far this year, Rijeka has seen the biggest boost in passenger numbers out of all of Croatia’s airports by handling 59.694 passengers, improving its figures by 24.5% on last year's result. In 2010 due to sliding figures and finances there were suggestions to shut down the airport.

On the other hand, Zadar continued its downward slide. With 49.956 passengers, numbers fell by 11.8%, even though the number of flights operating this August increased. Meanwhile, Osijek handled only 4.124 passengers.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in August 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 932.045 passengers, an increase of 4.1% compared to August 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers AUG 2011	Passengers AUG 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	249.159	231.155	▲ 7.8
Dubrovnik	262.262	259.638	▲ 1.0
Pula	86.686	78.996	▲ 9.7
Split	257.031	246.221	▲ 4.4
Zadar	49.956	56.624	▼ 11.8
Osijek	4.124	5.041	▼ 18.2
Rijeka	18.282	13.544	▲ 35.0
Mali Lošinj	1.797	1.298	▲ 38.4

Split Airport busiest in Croatia in July

In July Croatian airports recorded steady passenger growth when compared to last year. The country’s main airport, Zagreb, once again recorded a formidable result while last year’s star performer Zadar saw its numbers slip.



Zagreb’s Pleso Airport handled 256.256 passengers in July, an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period last year. The number of flights operating to and from the airport increased nearly 2%. By the end of July, Zagreb has seen 1.318.846 passengers pass through its doors, an impressive increase of 15.5%. Both Dubrovnik and Split fared well in July with Split recording a 10% passenger increase while Dubrovnik did even better with a 13% increase. Split handled more passengers than Zagreb thus becoming the busiest airport in the country in July. Rijeka Airport’s positive run continued with it handling 21.210 passengers, 36.7% better than last year.



On the other hand, Zadar and Osijek saw their numbers decrease on last year. Zadar was directly impacted by a decrease in the number of flights operating to and from the airport. It saw 50.890 passengers use its facilities in July which is down 8.3% on last year. Osijek saw a second month of sliding passenger numbers.



Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in July 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 946.547 passengers, an increase of 9.4% compared to July 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers JUL 2011	Passengers JUL 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	256.256	234.071	▲ 9.5
Dubrovnik	252.869	223.800	▲ 13.0
Pula	86.357	81.877	▲ 5.5
Split	270.791	246.084	▲ 10.0
Zadar	50.890	55.466	▼ 8.3
Osijek	4.013	4.477	▼ 10.4
Rijeka	21.210	15.517	▲ 36.7
Mali Lošinj	934	1.224	▼ 23.7

Busy times for Zagreb

Airports across Croatia recorded a rise in passenger figures for the month of June as the tourist season kicked in. Zagreb continues to see impressive passenger growth in 2011.

The country’s busiest international airport, Zagreb, saw its figures jump by 14.5%, with the airport handling 229.551 passengers. During the month the airport welcomed its millionth passenger in 2011 and ended the first 6 months of the year with 1.062.590 passengers, up 16.9% on the same period last year. Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka and Zadar all saw their passenger numbers increase between 5 and 10%. Rijeka’s fortunes have finally turned for the better. The airport handled 14.056 passengers, an increase of 50.5%.

Osijek was the only major airport to see its numbers decline. It handled 3.335 passengers, which is 42 passengers less than in June 2010, thus representing a decrease of 1.2%.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in June 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 693.038 passengers, an increase of 10.7% compared to June 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers JUN 2011	Passengers JUN 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	229.551	200.515	▲ 14.5
Dubrovnik	179.950	167.931	▲ 7.2
Pula	56.208	53.159	▲ 5.7
Split	169.415	154.778	▲ 9.5
Zadar	37.065	33.838	▲ 9.5
Osijek	3.335	3.377	▼ 1.2
Rijeka	14.056	9.341	▲ 50.5
Mali Lošinj	942	938	▼ 0.4

Split slips as Zagreb continues record run

Zagreb Airport has recorded one of its best Mays on record. Meanwhile, Rijeka finally reports growth while Dubrovnik and Split surprise with slipping passenger numbers.

In May 2011, Zagreb Airport handled 218.066, an impressive 17.9% improvement on last year. The figure is accompanied by a significant 15% increase in traffic. So far this year Zagreb has handled 833.039 passengers, representing a 17.7% jump. The airport is certain to break through the 1 million passenger mark during this June. On the other hand, Rijeka continues its comeback this year after a disastrous 2010. The seaside airport welcomed 5.337 passengers, up 6%. A similar increase was recorded by Pula which handled 24.966 passengers. Ryanair’s recent service launch from Brussels to Pula is also set to impact on June’s figures.

Dubrovnik and Split surprised with their May figures as both airports reported a decrease in the number of passengers compared to the same month last year, although these slips were not too significant. In what is to be Croatia’s record tourist season, Dubrovnik handled 142.326 passengers, down 0.4% while Split recorded a greater decrease of 2.4%. This negative trend was driven by a fall in the number of flights offered during the month compared to last year. In June, Dubrovnik should expect big increases thanks in part to Croatia Airlines which has launched several new services from the city.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in May 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 536.017 passengers, an increase of 7.9% compared to May 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers MAY 2011	Passengers MAY 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	218.066	184.965	▲ 17.9
Dubrovnik	142.326	142.834	▼ 0.4
Pula	24.966	23.308	▲ 7.1
Split	111.253	113.925	▼ 2.4
Zadar	29.965	22.900	▲ 30.9
Osijek	2.670	2.327	▲ 14.7
Rijeka	5.337	5.031	▲ 6.1
Mali Lošinj	464	436	▲ 6.0

An April to remember at Osijek Airport

It’s not every day that an airport records a 4 digit passenger percentage increase but that is exactly what happened to Osijek in April. Airports across Croatia recorded substantial passenger growth when compared to April 2010. Granted, April of last year saw most airports across Europe close due to the volcano ash from Iceland but the airports also recorded respectable increases compared to April of 2009.

Croatia’s main airport, Zagreb, handled a total of 190.751 passengers, an impressive 35.2% increase. For the first four months of the year, Pleso is up by 17.6%. A similar increase in passenger numbers was recorded in Split where figures jumped by over 37%. Despite having only 10 flights more, Dubrovnik’s airport handled 77.046 passengers and recorded an increase of 22.2%. An impressive passenger boost was also seen at Pula Airport, which plans to end the year off with an increase of at least 10% compared to 2010. Rijeka is still waiting for flights to pick up this summer. It recorded an increase of “only” 17.7%. Finally, Osijek with 2.122 passengers sees its numbers grow by 3.286%.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in April 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 371.127 passengers, an increase of 36.5% compared to April 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers APR 2011	Passengers APR 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	191.751	141.053	▲ 35.2
Dubrovnik	77.046	63.033	▲ 22.2
Pula	11.538	6.915	▲ 66.9
Split	63.550	46.188	▲ 37.6
Zadar	23.013	12.305	▲ 87.0
Osijek	2.122	63	▲3.268
Rijeka	2.681	2.277	▲ 17.7
Mali Lošinj	312	131	▲ 138.2