This year, Dubrovnik Airport welcomed its two-millionth passenger 19 days earlier than last year. 

Namely, Amanda Lynn Lowe from San Diego, California arrived on Friday by a Croatia Airlines flight from Zurich, Switzerland, reports N1.

Dubrovnik Airport director Frano Luetić congratulated the two-millionth passenger, pointing out that the airport keeps breaking records. 

"Reconstruction and improvement over the last six years have brought us growth in traffic. In these seven and a half months, our traffic has increased by 14 percent. In July, we reached a record over half a million passengers, and on August 3, we had a daily record with more of 24,000 passengers,” Luetić emphasized.

The airport hopes to reach three million passengers by the end of the year. 

"The number itself is not so important to us, but we place importance on the quality of service. We hope for good financial results as well," Luetić said.

Croatia Airlines commercial director Slaven Zabo is pleased that the two-millionth passenger arrived in Dubrovnik on the flight of the national airline, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Croatia Airlines, he added, is connecting Dubrovnik directly with eight international and three domestic destinations this year.

This year's two-millionth passenger at Dubrovnik Airport, a professional bodybuilder, has come to Croatia for an active vacation and will participate in a wellness seminar on the island of Lopud.

This is the third year in a row that Dubrovnik Airport has registered their two millionth passenger - the first time was on September 29, 2017, and last year on September 11.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

July 5, 2019 - It’s another busy year for Croatian airports, which saw the busiest June in history. 

Rijeka Airport continues to grow each year and saw a record increase in passengers and operations compared to June 2018, reports Novi List. 

"After the successful 2018, when Rijeka Airport broke all records, achieving a total turnover of 183,606 passengers and a growth in traffic of almost 30%, this summer season also opened with great news.

Namely, Rijeka Airport can boast the busiest June to date and has increased passenger traffic by 37% as compared to June 2018, while traffic operations accounted for 40% higher turnover compared to the previous year,” the airport said. 

These excellent achievements are an excellent introduction to the season, in which they expect 200,000 passengers. 

The reason for the increase is the introduction of new lines for Belgrade, Munich, and Marseille, but also an increase in the number of existing carriers, in particular, Transavia for Eindhoven, which increased by 350% compared to last season's number of operations,” they added.

Avio Radar reports that Dubrovnik Airport also recorded a stellar June, which saw 415,876 passengers, which is 50,528 more passengers than last year. Thus, Dubrovnik Airport welcomed a passenger growth of 13.83% last month. 

The first direct line from the United States to Croatia operated by American Airlines has significantly contributed to Dubrovnik’s success. 

Dubrovnik Airport has recorded an increase in traffic in each month this year. In the first half of the year, 1,059,564 passengers traveled through the airport, which is 157,184 more passengers than last year, or a growth of 17.42%. 

Split Airport welcomed 513,706 passengers or an increase of 8.2% for a record June, and in the first six months of 2019, they welcomed 1,102,118 passengers, which is up 8%. 

Ex Yu Aviation reports that Zagreb Airport saw 336,618 passengers in June, which is an increase of 1.5% compared to last year. In the first half of the year, Zagreb Airport handled 1,534,105 passengers, which is up 4.2%, or an additional 62,477 compared to 2018.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

June 19, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik, Zagreb, and Pula.

Ex Yu Aviation reports on June 19, 2019, that the national airline of Spain, Iberia, will end its winter service between Madrid and Dubrovnik but will maintain its summer service. Recall, Iberia operated between Madrid and Dubrovnik two times a week last winter season. 

However, not all hope is lost for Croatia this winter, as the Spanish airline will instead increase operations to Zagreb to three flights per week.  The additional service will operate on Sundays. 

Iberia has shown Croatia quite a bit of love this year, which all started with them adding another 204,586 seats between Spain and Croatia compared to last year. 

"Most of our passengers to and from Croatia fly point to point, but we also have connecting traffic. Among the cities that feed more passengers to our flights from/to Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb last year were New York, Lisbon, Bilbao, Porto, Chicago, Boston, and Miami,” Iberia said to Ex Yu Aviation at the beginning of the year. You can read the story here. 

In other news, Avio Radar reports that for the first time in its history, Pula Airport welcomed two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at the same time. Namely,  on Tuesday, June 18, two British airline TUI Airways aircraft flew on the BY4278 route from London Gatwick Airport and the BY2206 route from Manchester after 12:20, just three minutes apart. 

The Boeing 787-9 G-TUIM airplane flew from London, while the smaller Boeing 787-8 G-TUII flew from Manchester. The two flights did not plan on arriving in Pula at the same time, though the plane from Manchester was three hours late. 

On May 23rd this year, Dubrovnik Airport welcomed three Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at the same time, from London, Manchester,  and Bristol.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

June 15, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik and Zagreb. 

Avio Radar reports that Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance association, will maintain their summer route between Dubrovnik and Athens for the winter, thus giving Dubrovnik a new line this winter season.

From October 28, 2019, the Aegean route will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturday, until January 4, 2020. Afterward, there will be a two-month winter break, and from March 3, 2020, traffic will continue with two flights per week. 

At the same time, the Greek airline will increase winter traffic on the Zagreb-Athens route. In addition to last year’s two flights a week, on Mondays and Wednesday, an additional third flight will be introduced on Thursdays at selected times during the winter period. 

Just like the Dubrovnik route, the Zagreb route will have a break in traffic this winter, but for a shorter amount of time - from January 16 to February 23, 2020. 

Both lines will operate using the Bombardier Q400 aircraft from the Greek Olympic Air fleet. 

In other news, Avio Radar also reports that the Austrian low-cost carrier Anisec Luftfahrt, flying under the marketing name LEVEL, has significantly reduced traffic on many of its European routes. This significant reduction in traffic has also influenced the only route in Croatia, between Vienna and Dubrovnik, which was scheduled for four flights per week.

Now, the line will operate just one flight per week this summer, on Saturdays. Traffic will end on this route on September 7, 2019, with no further sales. An Airbus A321 aircraft will fly on this route. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

June 8, 2019 - American Airlines launched its new seasonal service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik on June 8, 2019, connecting the United States and Croatia for the first time in 28 years. American Airlines flight 148 landed in Dubrovnik 45 minutes earlier than scheduled. 

Mate Erceg

Ex Yu Aviation reports that flight AA148 left Philadelphia on Friday, June 7 at 6:06 pm local time (initially scheduled for 6:10 pm) with 209 passengers on board the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The return flight, which leaves Dubrovnik on June 8 at 11:40 am, should carry 120 passengers. 

Tonči Glavina

Tonči Glavina

As expected, this new seasonal service was a cause for celebration, and a ceremony was held earlier in the week at the National Constitution Center Museum in Philadelphia to kick off the new connection. 

There was even a party for 200 people and a klapa performance! 

TCN's Steve Rukavina was on the inaugural flight, alongside the Croatian Ambassador to the United States, Pjer Šimunović, and the State Secretary at the Croatian Ministry of Tourism, Frano Matušić.

"We are honored that American Airlines has chosen Dubrovnik to launch this historic service connecting our two great countries. We believe this will deepen the bilateral alliance and the bonds of friendship between two World Heritage cities and between the United States and Croatia," said Matušić on Ex Yu Aviation. 

Before the flight took off, American Airlines pulled out all the stops at the airport. 

Tonči Glavina

Rukavina said that the Philly mayor closed the event by saying: “My only regret today is that I am not on the flight to Dubrovnik!”

Steve Rukavina with Natko Vlahovic and AA VP Jim Moses

Flights to Dubrovnik will run on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and from Dubrovnik on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays. Recall, bookings were so good on this route that American Airlines announced they had to boost operations back in April. Namely, in September, the service will operate four times a week until the end of the month. 

More soon...

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

From next Saturday, Croatia and the United States will be connected for the first time in almost 30 years thanks to a direct flight by American Airlines! Namely, the new seasonal line between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik will operate on the world's largest airline from June 7th, reports Dalmacija Danas and Ex Yu Aviation on June 3, 2019. 

On June 7 at 18:10 local time, passengers will travel on the 209-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft from the Philadelphia international airport, and will land in Dubrovnik at 9:30 am the next day. The flight duration is 9 hours and 15 minutes. The first flight from Dubrovnik to Philadelphia takes off on June 8th at 11:40 am and is 10 hours and 25 minutes.

"American Airlines is very pleased with the bookings for our new flight between Dubrovnik and Philadelphia. While it is performing in line with our expectations, it is too early for us to comment on our 2020 summer schedule as that planning process is still being done,” the airline said to Ex Yu Aviation. 

Flights to Dubrovnik will run on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and from Dubrovnik on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays. Recall, bookings were so good on this route that American Airlines announced they had to boost operations back in April. 

Namely, in September, the service will operate four times a week until the end of the month. 

"We constantly evaluate our network to ensure we are maximizing our fleet while matching customer demand. It was a result of this process that we were able to add the fourth weekly frequency in September. The summer of 2019 represents a major strategic overhaul in our transatlantic network. In terms of [available seat miles] and seats, we are growing more than our competitors, due to drivers such as increased departures, stage length and gauge increase,” American Airlines added. 

The Croatian Tourist Board is also pleased. 

"By cooperating with airlines through our program of strategic promotional campaigns on key markets, we position Croatia as an attractive and well connected year-round destination. We are particularly excited about the new intercontinental service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik which will link us with the US market for the first time in almost thirty years,” said director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stančić, who also announced a promotional and marketing campaign with a budget of 5.3 million euro for all all joint marketing activities in 2019. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

May 26, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Split and Dubrovnik.

AvioRadar reports that from 2020, British low-cost airline Jet2 will boost traffic on the line between Split and East Midlands airport, located in central England near Nottingham and Derby. 

Recall, last year, Jet2 operated two flights during the week between Split and East Midlands, on Wednesdays and Sundays. This year, flights were canceled on Wednesdays, resulting in a reduction of traffic to one flight weekly,  on Sundays. However, based on the 2020 summer schedule, Jet2 has re-introduced the flight on Wednesdays.

Jet2 will operate a Boeing 737-800 on this route. 

In other news, AvioRadar reports that the French subsidiary of the TUI group significantly reduced traffic on routes to Croatia this year. Namely, of the 10 lines operating last year, only two remain. 

One of the remaining routes runs to Brač airport. Thus, the only line between France and Brač will continue operating this year, as traffic from Deauville will work to the island airport once a week, on Saturdays, with the Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft. 

To Split, only one of the five lines remain. The Paris line from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport to Split will run once a week, on Sundays, instead of Mondays like it did last year, using the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The lines from Lille, Lyon, Nantes, and Toulouse have been canceled. 

TUI has no operations to Dubrovnik from France this year. Namely, last year’s flights from Deauville Lyon, Nantes and Paris have all been canceled. The TUI Airlines Belgium aircraft flew on all lines between France and Croatia. 

All package deals from these destinations, apart from Lille, remain on offer at TUI this year, though air travel for these tourist arrangements is planned by the regular lines of Volotea or the charter flights of ASL Airlines France.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

TCN continues looking at the plans and expectations of Croatian airports in 2019, with updates from Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar, thanks to AvioRadar. 

February 14, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, and Brač airport. 

This year expects to be another stellar one for the popular Dubrovnik Airport, which hopes to grow their passenger numbers 5%. Recall, in 2018, Dubrovnik hit a new record after welcoming over 2.5 million travelers through their doors, which is already up over 9% on 2017, reports Ex Yu Aviation on January 6, 2019. 

"This past year was demanding and turbulent but our goal of achieving 10% growth, which is above the global average, has been more or less attained. We expect that our net profit for 2018 will amount to 9.8 million euros. In 2019, we estimate passenger growth of 4.59%. The biggest increase in travelers is expected from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic,” said Frano Luetić, the general manager at Dubrovnik Airport, who continued: 

"After 28 years, Croatia will be linked with the United States thanks to American Airlines' service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik. During the summer, Flydubai will continue to run flights from Dubai while the world's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, will launch services to our airport.” 

Up to 70 airlines will operate to Dubrovnik in the summer of 2019. 

"A significant increase in traffic is expected from cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Dublin,” Luetić added. 

Romana Vlašić, the director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, is also optimistic about the summer season - and especially the new route on American Airlines. 

"This pilot project with American Airlines will grow over the coming years to include more American cities. We have already arranged joint marketing opportunities and cooperation. We are only too happy to help fill these flights and make sure that this new link is successful,” Vlašić said.

Dubrovnik’s expansion project will also continue this year, which is estimated to be worth 225 million euro. 

Constructing two new rapid exit taxiways, expanding the western apron, and constructing a new commercial aviation apron on the west side, a new east apron for general aviation, a small general aviation terminal and developing aircraft maintenance and operation facilities in addition to the hangars, and a 700-vehicle parking lot is all part of the improvements.  Domestic operators will also get a housing area with its own maintenance and operations premises and a new aviation fuel tank, among other things. All construction work should be done in 2020.

A new terminal building is also in Dubrovnik’s plans, though it would only be used during the peak season. 

"Current capacity is at five million passengers, and I believe this will be sufficient for some time. As a result, we will not require any significant investments following the completion of this project. However, we do have plans for a new seasonal terminal to the west of the car park, although construction should begin in 2025 or 2026," said Luko Vuletić, the General Services Manager at Dubrovnik Airport. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.