May 21, 2021 - The latest regarding COVID-19 testing at Croatian airports as Dubrovnik, Pula, and Zadar should introduce testing locations inside their passenger terminals this summer. 

Two Croatian airports, Split and Zagreb, currently have organized passenger testing for COVID-19. Now, Croatian Aviation reports that Dubrovnik, Pula, and Zadar airports are introducing the same. By the beginning of the summer season, the mentioned airports will also enable airport testing. 

Zagreb Airport in January this year allowed all passengers en route to Amsterdam to test at the airport, which is not surprising given that the regulations of the Netherlands at that time were such that passengers had to have a rapid test no older than 3 hours from entry into the aircraft, so airport testing was almost imperative.

After the Netherlands removed this measure, Zagreb still allowed testing at the airport (PCR or rapid test), and the same is available on the second floor, at two check-in counters on the right side of the passenger terminal.

We remind you that from April 26, COVID-19 testing is also possible near Split Airport; you can check the working hours HERE.

Dubrovnik, Zadar, and Pula airports (the only ones with Split and Zagreb that currently have international traffic) do not offer the possibility of testing at the airport. Still, all three mentioned airports informed Croatian Aviation that the management is preparing testing locations. By the beginning of the summer season, i.e., when several international lines are launched, everything will be ensured that testing (PCR or rapid test) is available in passenger terminals at Pula, Zadar, and Dubrovnik airports.

Testing at airports is part of the "new normal". Logically, the same will be possible in all Croatian airports, with regular international routes announced this summer. Without this possibility, tourist holidays in Croatia this summer are significantly complicated, so this service should be provided at the starting and ending points when visiting the country. 

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 20, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as only 11 international routes to Rijeka Airport will operate this summer. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Rijeka Airport has announced a preliminary flight schedule with only 11 international routes to 10 destinations in Europe this summer season from the island of Krk. The first regular international flight this year on Krk is expected on May 29.

German Eurowings will have the largest number of lines to Rijeka this summer (just like previous seasons) and is planning 5 lines: from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne, and Stuttgart.

This year's first international scheduled flight to Rijeka has been announced for Saturday, May 29, from Dusseldorf, on an A319 aircraft.

Eurowings is planning a significantly smaller number of weekly flights to Rijeka compared to the 2019 season, which is logical given the global pandemic:

The Berlin - Rijeka - Berlin line has been announced from the end of June to the end of October, twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Düsseldorf - Rijeka - Düsseldorf line will operate from May 29, once a week, on Saturdays, and from the beginning of July, the second weekly flight will be introduced on Wednesdays.

The Hamburg - Rijeka - Hamburg line is planned from the end of June, three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, while the line from Cologne has been announced twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The Stuttgart - Rijeka - Stuttgart line will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays, from the beginning of July to the middle of October.

In 2018, the Dutch Transavia started traffic to Rijeka on the line from Eindhoven, and the same was in traffic last summer. The start of traffic is expected only in July, and from then, the company plans to travel to Rijeka as many as four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The long-term partner of Rijeka Airport, Air Baltic, plans to introduce its seasonal line from Riga only in July. Two flights a week are announced on Mondays and Thursdays. The company announced a line between Rijeka and Vilnius in February last year, but it was not realized for obvious reasons - the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new Lufthansa line from Frankfurt was supposed to start operating in May but was postponed to early July. Lufthansa will operate to Rijeka once a week, on Saturdays.

The Munich-Rijeka-Munich route, operated by two airlines, Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines, has been announced from the end of June. Croatia will operate on it three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, and Lufthansa on Saturdays.

LOT introduced a line between Rijeka and Warsaw last summer, and flights have been announced since June 19, also once a week, on Saturdays.

Judging by the current schedule, Rijeka will have the busiest traffic on Saturdays, when as many as 9 aircraft operations are expected on international routes. Still, the other days of the week are extremely weak: only two international flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, three on Tuesdays, five on Thursdays, and no flights announced on Fridays!

Compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, Rijeka was left without several lines. This year, it will not be possible to travel directly to London (in 2019, two lines, to Stansted and Gatwick), Marseille (Volotea), Belgrade (Air Serbia), Stockholm, and Brussels (Ryanair), Tel Aviv (Arkia), and Hanover Eurowings). In the published schedule, there are no regular charter lines from Paris and Košice that operated in the summer of 2019.

In 2019, Rijeka managed to reach 200 thousand passengers in one year for the first time, but already in 2020, there was a sharp decline due to the impact of the pandemic - only 27,680 passengers passed through this airport last year. Given the preliminary schedule and the modest announcements of the airlines, it is obvious that the number of passengers at Rijeka Airport will not be large this year either.

In addition to the mentioned international destinations, Rijeka Airport also has direct routes to Osijek, Split, and Dubrovnik as part of the PSO program. These lines operate twice a week throughout the year.

Given the announced traffic in neighboring airports (Zagreb, Zadar, and Pula), the number of international routes to Rijeka, according to the schedule HERE, will be relatively small, so most passengers who gravitate to this airport will start or end their travels to the three airports mentioned above.

This will be the case until one airline decides to connect Rijeka Airport with a major European hub, such as London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Paris, at least three times a week throughout the year.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE. For everything, you need to know about Rijeka Airport, follow our Total Croatia page.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 19, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Zagreb and Split KLM flights have been boosted! 

Croatian Aviation reports that Dutch KLM currently operates twice a day between Zagreb and Amsterdam, and instead of Embraer aircraft, larger capacity aircraft operates on the route. Flights to Split have been running daily since yesterday!

Since the end of March, Dutch KLM has been gradually increasing the number of weekly flights between Zagreb and Amsterdam, adding a second daily flight on certain days of the week. The company now operates twice a day between the mentioned airports, and so far the Embraer E170 and E190 aircraft have mainly operated on this route.

The capacity of the mentioned aircraft is 76 or 100 passengers. Since the beginning of May, KLM has started using larger capacity aircraft on certain days of the week, mainly B737-700 type aircraft that can carry up to 142 passengers. Aircraft type B737-700 are announced for both daily flights to Zagreb until June 14, and again from June 21 to July 4.

From the beginning of July to the end of August, KLM plans to use B737-800 aircraft with a capacity of as many as 186 passengers on the line between Zagreb and Amsterdam. During the peak of the summer season, the -700 version was announced only on Sundays, on one daily flight.

KLM thus significantly increases the number of offered seats to and from Zagreb, counting on higher demand in the summer months. From June 1 to August 31, the Dutch airline will offer more than 56,800 seats on this route!

Increasing the number of operations towards Split

As of May 17, KLM increased the number of operations to Split Airport and now flights to and from Amsterdam are available daily.

One Croatian Aviation reader on yesterday's Amsterdam - Split flight confirmed that the B737-700 aircraft was almost full, so it is not surprising that the company decided to increase the number of operations to Split Airport earlier than in the summer season of 2019. As announced earlier, KLM will run 12 times a week between Split and Amsterdam this summer!

In addition to Split and Zagreb, this summer KLM will also run to Dubrovnik, from June 26, every day. Thus, the Dutch national airline, the oldest airline in the world, will have as many as 33 flights a week to three Croatian airports in the peak season this summer, which is a significant increase in the number of operations compared to the year before the global pandemic. Air France, also part of the same group, is present in three Croatian airports - Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik.

Although the E170 and E190 are very well received by passengers, the B737 has a significantly higher capacity, and the company will soon be able to use the Internet on flights within Europe (free for social networks), so this additional service will be available on flights to Split and Zagreb. Considering that good bookings are expected on the new route to Dubrovnik, there is no doubt that the company will use aircraft from the B737 family on this route as well.

Apart from those traveling between the mentioned cities, it should be noted that the share of transfer passengers on KLM lines is extremely high, and within Europe, this applies mainly to destinations such as Dublin, London, Manchester, and Oslo.

KLM has significantly increased its presence in the Croatian market in the last two years, and it is to be expected that this will continue in the future. A completely logical choice of the company would be the establishment of regular lines from Amsterdam to Pula and Zadar.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 18, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as flights from Dublin to Croatia return later this month thanks to Croatia Airlines and Ryanair!

Croatian Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines will resume traffic on the regular route between Dublin and Zagreb from the end of May. At the beginning of June, Ryanair will reconnect Dublin with Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik.

The Croatian national airline operated for a short time, around the Easter holidays, on a regular route between Dublin and Zagreb Airport, but traffic was soon suspended. The company has decided to operate again on this line from the end of May with two flights a week, every Thursday and Sunday.

The Croatia Airlines route between Zagreb and Dublin has been announced from Thursday, May 27, and flights are planned for the coming summer months. A319 aircraft with a capacity of 144 passengers will operate on the route.

From mid-June, Croatia Airlines has regular charter flights between Split and Dublin, once a week, on Wednesdays, until the beginning of September.

From the beginning of June, Irish Ryanair will resume traffic on its three seasonal lines from Dublin to Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik. In the summer season of 2020, the line to Zadar from the capital of Ireland was not in traffic.

The Dublin - Zadar Airport route has been announced from June 2, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, and the airline plans to keep the same number of weekly operations throughout the summer flight schedule.

The Dublin - Split Airport line has also been announced from June 2, twice a week, on the same days as the line to Zadar. In early July, the company plans to increase the number of weekly operations by introducing an additional flight on Fridays.

The Dublin - Dubrovnik Airport line will be in operation from June 4. Two flights a week have been announced for June, on Mondays and Fridays, while an additional flight on Wednesdays is expected from the beginning of July.

The third airline operating between Ireland and Croatia is AerLingus. The company previously announced the resumption of traffic to Pula, Split, and Dubrovnik from the beginning of June. Still, currently, all flights have been postponed until the second half of June.

Regarding COVID restrictions, passengers coming to Croatia from Ireland must have:

- negative PCR or rapid antigen test not older than 48 hours from entry into Croatia,

- vaccination certificate (the last dose must be received at least 15 days before entering Croatia),

- certificate of recovery (12 to 180 days),

If the passengers do not have any of the above, upon entering the Republic of Croatia, passengers will be referred for a PCR or rapid antigen test at their own expense and are obliged to stay in self-isolation until the results arrive.

Croatian citizens traveling from Croatia to Ireland are required to have:

- negative PCR test not older than 72 hours from entry into Ireland,

- for certain categories of passengers, it is possible to determine 14-day self-isolation.

This does not apply to passengers who have been fully vaccinated:

- Pfizer vaccine received at least 7 days before entering Ireland,

- Moderna or Janssen vaccine at least 14 days before entering Ireland,

- AstraZeneca at least 15 days before entering Ireland.

Passengers must complete the "Passenger Locator Form" before entering Ireland.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 17, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as United Airlines flights to Dubrovnik have been increased to 4 per week! 

The American airline, United Airlines, is increasing the number of weekly operations on the new route between New York and Dubrovnik Airport!

Less than a month after the announcement they would be introducing a regular flight between New York (Newark Airport) and Dubrovnik, United Airlines will add another weekly flight on this new line in this year's summer flight schedule.

The airline originally announced three flights per week, with departures from New York every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Now, flights will also be on sale every Friday! The return from Dubrovnik is the next day, i.e. Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, reports Croatian Aviation.

In this way, United will equal the number of operations between New York and Dubrovnik with the number of operations of Delta Air Lines on the same line, and Dubrovnik thus gets the eighth flight a week to New York!

The airline is pleased with the demand on this new route to Dubrovnik and it is almost certain that the aircraft will be sold out this summer. For this reason, an additional flight was launched, departing from New York every Friday.

"As we start to see a strong desire from our customers to travel internationally to re-opened countries, we are excited to move up service and add a fourth weekly flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia," said Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network and alliances at United.  

B767-300ER aircraft with a capacity of 214 passengers have been announced for all flights. With new operations on Friday, United will offer an additional 5,564 seats to Dubrovnik.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 17, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as London flights to Croatia return for the summer season thanks to easyJet, Ryanair, and British Airways. 

Croatian Aviation reports that since the beginning of the winter flight schedule last year, Zagreb Airport has been the only airport with a direct connection to London. That will change after almost 7 months, and many airlines will resume seasonal flights to Croatian airports by the end of this month.

Dubrovnik and London

From 28 May, the British national airline, British Airways, will resume operations on its seasonal route between London (Heathrow Airport) and Dubrovnik. Flights have been confirmed three times a week since that date, every Monday, Friday, and Sunday. Dubrovnik will be the first British Airways destination this summer season in the Republic of Croatia.

From June 30, the British easyJet will resume traffic on the London Gatwick-Dubrovnik route. Initially, one flight was announced per week, on Sundays, but as early as June 7, an increase in the number of weekly operations was announced, every Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Split and London

easyJet will re-introduce the London Luton-Split route on May 22, initially with two flights a week, Thursdays and Saturdays, and as of June 8, four flights a week have been announced on this route.

As of May 29, two more lines between Split and London will be introduced. Croatia Airlines will resume traffic to Heathrow with one flight per week, on Saturdays, while easyjet will introduce a route to Gatwick Airport also once a week, on Saturdays. EasyJet has announced 6 flights a week on this route since June 8, every day except Wednesday.

Until a few days ago, British Airways announced its return to Split in the first days of June, but the flights were once again postponed and are currently announced from June 11.

Pula and London

From June 3, Irish Ryanair will introduce the London Stansted-Pula line. Flights were announced twice a week through June, on Thursdays and Sundays. From June 12, easyJet also plans to introduce a line between Pula and London Gatwick.

Zadar and London

Ryanair will resume traffic between Stansted and Zadar from June 1. Two flights a week have been announced, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Zagreb and London

Until May, Croatia Airlines operated between Heathrow and Zagreb once a week, on Mondays, but since the beginning of this month, the company also operates on the second weekly flight between the two airports - every Friday. From this week, Croatia will operate between Heathrow and Zagreb three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The return of British Airways to Zagreb has been postponed until the end of June.

Other Croatian airports open to international traffic (Rijeka, Osijek, and Brac) do not have regular flights from London airports for May, and it is expected that the mentioned airports will be without a direct connection with London throughout the summer season.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 14, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Wizz Air flights to Dubrovnik return with the announcement of a Rome summer service, while a new Split-Rome route will operate, too.

Croatian Aviation reports that the well-known Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air will increase the number of aircraft based at Rome's Fiumicino Airport in July and announced two new routes to Croatia. After a long break, Wizz Air is returning to Dubrovnik Airport!

The airline announced on its official website that A321NEO aircraft would be based at Fiumicino Airport. Several routes will be opened to European destinations, including two airports in Croatia - Split and Dubrovnik.

After a long break, Wizz Air returns to Dubrovnik Airport. The line will be in traffic three times a week, from July 1 to October 30, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

With as many as 53 planned rotations, Wizz Air will offer more than 25,000 seats between Dubrovnik and Rome!

From July 2, Wizz Air will introduce the Rome - Split Airport - Rome route, which will also operate three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, until October 29. On 52 return flights, the airline will offer as many as 24,856 seats between Split and Rome this summer! This is the seventh new Wizz Air line this summer season to Split Airport.

In addition to Wizz Air, two other airlines operate in the summer flight schedule on the routes from Rome to Dubrovnik and Split: Croatia Airlines and the Spanish airline Vueling.

From July, passengers can choose between three airlines to travel to the Italian capital from Split and Dubrovnik airports, on one of the newest aircraft in the fleet of this well-known European low-cost airline.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 13, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Azur Air announces Saint Petersburg - Pula flights from June 2, 2021!

Croatian Aviation reports that a few days ago, Azur Air announced they were introducing a line between Moscow and Zagreb with a B767-300ER aircraft. Today, the Russian airline has announced yet another seasonal route to Croatia, this time to Pula Airport.

The airline plans to introduce a line between Pula and Saint Petersburg as early as June 2. The line should operate until the end of October (October 27), once a week, on Wednesdays, using B757-200 aircraft, with a maximum capacity of 238 passengers.

During this period, this Russian airline will offer almost 10,500 seats between Saint Petersburg and Pula and an additional 15,500 seats on the line between Moscow and Zagreb.

Nordwind canceled their Moscow line to Pula

The news came from Pula Airport today that Nordwind Airlines, which launched the line between Moscow and Pula on April 28, will stop operating on that route from May 19. Nordwind is currently offering tickets on this route for the entire summer flight schedule, so it is to be expected that they will return to Pula Airport at some point this summer season.

Given current announcements, the Azur line between Saint Petersburg and Pula will be the only direct line from this Russian city to Croatia this summer season. The lines to Pula and Zagreb are currently the only destinations of this Russian airline in the Republic of Croatia.

Apart from Nordwind, Russian S7 Airlines, German Lufthansa, Trade Air, and Croatia Airlines currently operate to Pula. According to current announcements, the routes of other airlines will be gradually introduced as early as the end of this month.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 11, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as two new Ryanair flights to Zagreb have been announced from September! 

Croatian Aviation reports that Ryanair released tickets for two more new routes to Zagreb Airport today!

As previously announced, the Irish low-cost airline will open a base at Zagreb Airport from September this year.

In addition to the already announced, 12 new lines, Ryanair will operate directly to two more destinations from Zagreb from September.

From September 4, the Zagreb - Malmo - Zagreb line will be introduced, which will be in traffic twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

From the same date, the Zagreb - Dusseldorf Weeze - Zagreb line will be introduced, which will also operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Tickets for these two new routes are already on sale on the airline's official website, and these lines will also operate in the winter flight schedule. According to the latest announcements, Ryanair will have as many as 14 international routes from Zagreb Airport from the beginning of September, leaving the possibility of introducing additional lines until the start of operations and the opening of the base in September.

Already this autumn, Ryanair will perform weekly flights from Zagreb Airport to the following destinations:

Brussels Charleroi, from June 2, 3 times a week,

Dortmund, from September 3, 2 times a week,

Frankfurt-Hahn, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Gothenburg, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Karlsruhe, from September 2, 2 times a week,

London, from September 1, daily,

Memmingen, from September 3, 2 times a week,

Milan, from July 1, 4 times a week,

Paris, from September 2, 2 times a week,

Podgorica, from September 4, 2 times a week,

Rome, from September 3, 3 times a week,

Torp Sandefjord, from September 1, 2 times a week.

The company has more than 430 B737-800 aircraft in the fleet, with a capacity of 189 seats. The average age of Ryanair aircraft is only 8 years.

Ryanair has been operating in Croatia since 2006. By June 2019, the company had transported 4 million passengers to and from Croatia.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 11, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Aegean Airlines' Athens-Zagreb flights will not operate this summer. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Greek national airline, Aegean Airlines, has stopped selling all tickets on the direct route between Athens and Zagreb for this summer season.

Greece's national carrier withdrew ticket sales this weekend on a regular route between Athens and Zagreb Airport. Although in mid-January this year, the company announced the reintroduction of regular lines from Athens to Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, in the meantime, there have been operational changes.

As announced earlier, the line to Split was canceled, while the first flights to Zagreb and Dubrovnik were announced for May. The company has now further reduced its network of destinations for the summer season, with no connection to Zagreb available. 

Aegean Airlines launched a regular flight between Athens and Zagreb in May 2018 and operated on it three times a week with DashQ400 aircraft. The line also operated in the winter flight schedule but reduced, with a short break in January and February 2019.

At the end of 2019, the company announced that it would introduce larger aircraft on the route to Zagreb in the 2020 summer season (A319 and A320 aircraft), but this did not happen due to the global pandemic, and the route was suspended. Although according to the company's announcements, Aegean was expected to operate to Zagreb in the summer of this year, according to the latest information, this will not happen, and the chances that the line will be renewed in the winter flight schedule this year are almost non-existent.

The only destination of the Greek national airline this summer in Croatia is Dubrovnik, according to which Aegean Airlines planes should operate from June 19, initially twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Zagreb remains connected to Athens by the regular line of Croatia Airlines (with a stop in Dubrovnik), which should start operating on Thursday, July 1. Flights on this line are announced three times a week; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and tickets are on sale on the official website of Croatia Airlines.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.