June 23, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar.

Croatian AviationCroatian Aviation reports that Scandinavian Airlines, better known as SAS, has announced a modified flight schedule for July, in which the number of weekly flights to Split has increased significantly.

As we announced earlier this month, the company launched flights to Split from Copenhagen and Oslo in a reduced form, only once a week from Oslo and twice a week from Copenhagen.

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The company has decided to increase the number of weekly flights and add a route from Stockholm to Split, so SAS will connect Split with Scandinavia according to the following schedule:

Copenhagen - Split, from June 29, daily (so far twice a week)

Oslo - Split, from June 29, six times a week, except Thursdays (so far once a week).

SAS will also introduce Stockholm - Split, from July 1, which will operate daily!

On the routes from Copenhagen and Oslo, the company will use A320neo aircraft, while B737-800 aircraft will operate from Stockholm. The A320 in the fleet of this carrier has a capacity of 174 passengers, while the B737-800 has a capacity for 181 passengers.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that Austrian Airlines changed its flight schedule for July, and there were some operational changes on the routes from Vienna to Croatia.

Austrian made its first flight this summer to Dubrovnik on Sunday and will operate twice a week on the route to Vienna until the end of the month. On Wednesday, Austrian will launch a line to Split. As of June 29, a daily connection between Vienna and Zagreb will be introduced.

In July, there will be some changes to these lines. Namely, Austrian Airlines will increase the number of weekly flights to Dubrovnik and Zagreb and decrease it to Split.

Vienna-Dubrovnik will be increased from the existing two flights a week to four (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays),

Vienna-Split will be reduced from the existing four flights to three (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays),

Vienna - Zagreb will continue to operate daily, but on Thursdays, there will be two daily flights on this line (a total of 8 flights per week).

The Vienna-Zadar line will not be in operation in July either, so its launch this summer season is questionable.

The announcement of Lufthansa, which is part of the group that also includes Austrian Airlines, is expected soon, so we believe that Lufthansa will increase the number of flights to Croatia.

June 22, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar.

Croatian Aviation reports that Turkish Airlines will fly again on the Istanbul-Zagreb route from July 1. 

During the summer, Turkish Airlines operated to Zagreb twice a day, thus offering a large number of connections to other destinations in the world to all passengers from Croatia, of course, in the opposite direction, allowing many tourists to come to Zagreb (especially those from Asia).

Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, Turkish had suspended traffic on all routes, and in the last month, has gradually reintroduced domestic lines within Turkey, and now certain international destinations.

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Although before the pandemic, when the airline operated to Zagreb twice a day, the company will now re-launch the line in a reduced form. Namely, the Istanbul - Zagreb - Istanbul line will be run 5 times a week from July 1, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

On Wednesdays and Sundays, the line will be maintained in the morning, with the A320 aircraft, while on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, the aircraft will operate on this line in the evening with the B737-800 aircraft.

The A320 aircraft in the fleet of this carrier has the capacity for 153 passengers, while aircraft type B737-800 has a capacity of 162 passengers.

Turkish Airlines operates throughout the year on the Istanbul - Dubrovnik route, but currently, this route is not yet announced and there is no specific date for the start of operations of this well-known airline to Dubrovnik Airport.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased on the airline's website.

Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that over the weekend, LuxAir renewed all three of its routes to Croatia. The first flight landed in Dubrovnik on Saturday, June 20. The first flight carried 54 passengers, while 5 flew back to Luxembourg. This line will be in service on Saturdays, and from July 8 on Wednesdays. 

The second arrival landed in Zadar. This route is planned once a week, on Saturdays, until October 10. On Sunday, June 21, the line to Split was resumed. It will remain in traffic once a week, on Sundays, until October 18. 

With the resumed traffic this weekend, LuxAir is the first airline to already fly on all routes and in the full number of weekly flights according to plan before COVID-19. Bombardier Q400 aircraft have been announced for all flights to Croatia.

June 21, 2020 — Croatia Airlines will increase the frequency of some international routes out of Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, as well as add a domestic flight to Brač, according to Croatian Aviation.

In the first week of July, the company will increase the number of frequencies on numerous international routes from Zagreb, and introduce one domestic one, towards the airport on Brač, among other additions.

The Croatian national carrier has slowly returned routes suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions.

Here are the changes taking effect July 6, split according to airport:

Zagreb

Flights to Frankfurt will operate as many as 32 times a week:

• Mondays and Sundays four times a day
  
  
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays three times a day
  
  
• Saturdays twice a day

Lines to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Munich and Sarajevo will operate daily, while flights to Zurich, Dubrovnik and Split will operate twice a day.

Flights to Brussels will operate 8 times a week:

• twice a day on Wednesdays and Fridays
  
  
• on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays once a day
  
  

Lines to Paris, London, Dublin and Vienna will operate three times a week, while planes to Rome will take off four times a week.

Flights to Zadar and Pula will occur seven times a week (twice a day on Sundays, no flights on Saturdays).

A direct line to Brač will be introduced. The DashQ400 aircraft will connect these two airports every Tuesday and Saturday.

Split

Direct flights to Copenhagen, London, Vienna and Paris will start once a week, on Saturdays.

The Frankfurt - Split line will operate five times a week, while routes to Munich and Zurich will operate three times a week.

A domestic line between Split and Osijek is being introduced, once a week, on Fridays.

Dubrovnik

The company will also introduce international lines from Dubrovnik.

Direct flights to Dusseldorf and Zurich are introduced, once a week, on Saturdays, while the Dubrovnik-Frankfurt route will be open four times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays).

A domestic line between Dubrovnik and Osijek is being introduced, once a week, every Thursday.

Tickets on all these lines are on sale on the Croatia Airlines website.

June 20, 2020 - Dubrovnik was the first city in the world to introduce quarantine in 1377, a fact that has interested international media since the start of the coronavirus epidemic.

Namely, HRTurizam writes that while epidemics were raging around the world in the 14th century, including the plague, revolutionary measures were adopted in Dubrovnik to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious diseases in the Republic. The Adriatic Pearl was the first city in the world to introduce quarantine in 1377, the first system of anti-infective measures.

Thus, the people of Dubrovnik, already famous sailors and merchants at that time, prescribed measures for the protection of health and provided conditions for business even in times of great danger from the plague. After the first decision on anti-infective measures from 1377, the Senate chose the islands of Bobara and Supetar, the monastery of Sv. Marija on the island of Mljet, then in the middle of the 15th century, the construction of an infirmary in Danče began, and in the 1530s on the islet of Lokrum. In 1627, the construction of the Lazaret in Ploče began, which are the only fully preserved quarantine complex in the European part of the Mediterranean, and have been under UNESCO protection since 1994.

The emphasis on the Dubrovnik tradition in the fight against various epidemics since the 14th century has had an extremely positive response in international media, points out the Dubrovnik Tourist Board.

Some of the world's most famous media reported the story of the world's first quarantine, like the Washington Post, BBC, NYTimes, BBC News Mundo, Corriere della Sera, France 24, Bild, Rtl, La Vanguardia, 24 Horas, and ABC News.

The Dubrovnik Tourist Board and the City of Dubrovnik have thus used this important bit of history for marketing purposes in constant communication with foreign media, as well as in all promotional activities.

They also recently released an animated film called "Dubrovnik - safe vacation", starring the knight Orlando, who takes viewers into history, back in 1377, when the idea of quarantine in Lazareti was conceived as a way to fight various epidemics.

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June 19, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar. 

Avio Radar reports that Polish national airline LOT Polish Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance global aircraft, will resume scheduled international air traffic from July 1. Among the first destinations are three stops in Croatia - Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar. 

Zagreb and Rijeka are not on offer in the first 14 days of traffic. Pula was not planned this year or before the pandemic. The flight schedule is only valid from July 1 to 15. 

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The Warsaw-Dubrovnik line will be in traffic twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, instead of the planned 6 times a week (every day except Tuesday). The Warsaw-Split line will be in traffic once a week, on Wednesdays, instead of two flights per week. Flights on Sunday have been canceled. The Warsaw-Zadar route will be offered once a week, on Saturdays, just as it was announced before the pandemic. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft have been announced on all routes to Croatia. 

The biggest news is that the new Budapest-Dubrovnik line, announced for the first time this year, will start operations. Flights will run once a week, on Saturdays, instead of Sunday, which as originally announced. The smaller Embraer ERJ-195 aircraft will fly on this route. 

Avio Radar also reports that Czech airline Smartwings has stopped the sale of all flights on the Prague-Dubrovnik route until the end of the year. The line was planned to operate daily. It was previously delayed until July 1, but is now no longer on offer at all. 

The Prague-Split line already started operating on June 10, and has been planned daily since June 24. If there are no changes, it will be the first regular line that will fly from Europe daily to one of the Croatian destinations on the Adriatic. 

The Ostrava-Split line was supposed to begin operations on June 13, though it has been delayed until further notice. Lines from Poland to Split have been postponed until July 2. 

Lines from Poland to Dubrovnik have also been postponed, but to July 9, while the Gdansk-Dubrovnik route is scheduled to run a week later. 

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft was announced on all routes, but on Wednesday, June 17, a smaller Airbus A319 flew from Prague to Split as a replacement for the partner company CSA Czech Airlines, a member of the SkyTeam global airline association. 

Coronavirus has dealt global travel and tourism a huge blow, and even the City of Dubrovnik, which prides itself on tourism and is known for coming with a hefty price tag for just about everything, is suffering.

Dubrovnik is known for being the first to abolish slavery, its glorious Medieval walls, its UNESCO status, and its often extortionate prices. While it is true that there are many places in Croatia's southernmost city that are inexpensive (or at least there used to be, I live in Zagreb and it's been a while since I lived in the country's tourist Mecca), the most common complaints about Dubrovnik are the traffic and the price of things. Could coronavirus mark the end of that long-lived trend? Maybe...

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of June, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a severe blow to tourism, even to Dubrovnik, which is also the primary economic branch from which Dubrovnik exists, and the dire numbers speak for themselves. According to the data of the Tourist Board of the City of Dubrovnik, on June the 1st, 2020, 86 arrivals and 316 overnight stays were recorded in the area of ​​the City of Dubrovnik. For comparison, on the same day last year, there were 6,747 arrivals and 18,481 overnight stays realised, which are incomparably higher numbers.

In the city where almost every street has its own catering and hospitality facility, only about 50 of them are currently open. Currently, only seven of Dubrovnik's hotels have opened their doors to guests. These are the Dubrovnik Palace, Hilton Imperial, Hotel Lero, Hotel Park, Hotel Petka, the Pucic Palace and Royal Blue.

The president of the Dubrovnik County Chamber, Nikolina Trojic, revealed that the value of issued invoices in the tourism sector fell by an enormous 92 percent.

"According to the Tax Administration, from February the 24th to May the 17th, 2020, 78 percent fewer invoices were fiscalised than in the same period back in 2019, and the total amount of these invoices is 63 percent lower in all activities across Dubrovnik-Neretva County. In the tourism sector, which includes accommodation, catering/hospitality and travel agencies, the value of issued invoices fell by 92 percent,'' Trojic told the local Dubrovnik portal, Dubrovacki Dnevnik.

Although a work ban was in place for most industries, trade and traffic were the few that could still work. However, no positive figures were recorded in these sectors either.

"The data shows that the number of invoices issued in the trade sector was 41 percent lower, while the value of those invoices issued in trade was 27 percent lower. Among the most affected activities was the activity of travel agencies, where, during these observed three months of ''lock down'', the value of issued invoices fell by 98 percent compared to the same period back in 2019. Additionally, for the period from May the 11th, when caterers and those in the hospitality industry were allowed to work again, until May the 17th, 2020 (when compared to the same period in 2019) there was a decrease in the number of issued invoices by 71 percent and a decrease in the value of those same invoices by 96 percent in the tourism sector,'' Trojic explained.

Although the problem of labour shortages in tourist-oriented Dubrovnik used to exist because of demographic issues, now the priority has become to keep hold of these people and preserve the ability to pay their salaries.

"The absence of tourist figures from previous years will certainly have consequences for our economy. The reduced levels of demand for accommodation services, catering services, excursions and other tourist facilities will affect the downward price correction, it's an economic fact, the law of supply and demand. The fall in prices will depend on the level of indebtedness of economic entities and the possibility of servicing fixed costs.

Care should be taken to keep the value for money, because in the coming years that will be the biggest engine of recovery of our economy. It's to be expected that at some point, there will be a reduction in salaries, a reduction of the working week and other mechanisms for preserving these jobs,'' concluded Trojic.

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June 12, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

Croatian Aviation reports that Air France announced today on its official website that it is re-launching international routes to numerous destinations in Europe and the world, including three in Croatia.

Air France originally planned to introduce a second daily rotation between Zagreb and Paris (thus connecting the two cities as many as 14 times a week), but the plans have, of course, been disrupted by the pandemic and will not happen this year.

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The company will gradually increase the number of weekly flights to destinations in Croatia. We bring you the planned flight schedule for July:

The Paris - Zagreb line is being reintroduced, from July 1, 3 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays),

The Paris - Split line is reintroduced, from July 13, 4 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays),

The Paris - Dubrovnik line is being reintroduced, from July 4, twice a week (Saturdays and Sundays). On the Paris-Dubrovnik route, another flight will be added per week, on Mondays, from July 13.

On the routes from Paris to Zagreb and Dubrovnik, Air France will operate aircraft A319, A320 and A321, which in the fleet of this airline have a capacity between 143 and 212 seats in the passenger cabin.

According to current announcements, HOP will operate on the line from Paris to Split! for Air France Embraer 190 aircraft, capacity 100 passengers.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation announced that Canadian leisure airline canceled the seasonal Toronto - Zagreb - Toronto route, which it launched in 2016.

Air Transat was originally supposed to launch a direct line between Toronto and Zagreb in May this year, but due to the impact of the pandemic, the start of traffic was postponed to July.

The direct line from Toronto was on sale 3 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) with the A330-200 wide-body aircraft, but it was withdrawn from sale and the company announced that it will not operate on this line this year, of course, the only reason is poor demand caused by COVID-19.

Last summer, Zagreb was connected directly with Toronto with as many as two airlines, Air Canada Rouge operated 4 times a week between the two cities, while Air Transat operated 3 times a week on the route, i.e., a total of 7 weekly direct flights.

Air Canada Rouge canceled the route to Zagreb in April (as well as many other seasonal ones in Europe), and now Air Transat has done the same.

With this, as things stand now (with the exception of Emirates, which still has a line to Zagreb on sale since September), Zagreb was left without wide-body aircraft this year, given that Emirates will most likely also cancel flights to Zagreb.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 11th of June, 2020, a few years ago, Mayor Mato Frankovic took over responsibility for managing the city of Dubrovnik. During that time, numerous projects were implemented and launched, and a number of measures were implemented with the aim of ensuring the best possible quality of life for all generations of Dubrovnik citizens.

Of the capital projects, it should be noted that the construction works on a primary school were completed after 35 years, followed by the equipping of the school, and the total amount of that investment stood at a massive 75 million kuna. The drinking water purifier in Komolac has been put into operation, and this year, the student house/home (studenski dom) is set to its doors, in which the city has invested 30 million kuna.

Lazareti was renovated with the use of EU money, marking a project worth 33.8 million kuna, of which 29.5 came directly from European Union funds. Kindergartens have been built and renovated, and schools and playgrounds have been energetically renovated. A three-kilometre-long two-lane road (Klisevo-Mrcevo) was built, and the historic first phase of rehabilitation of Stradun's mixed drainage canal was carried out.

Road construction between the Dr. Franjo Tudjman bridge and Osojnik is a prerequisite for the expansion of the city and the development of a new residential zone. The waterfront in Rozat was also renovated, and after 43 years of waiting, the State Archives has been relocated into a new building, for which the city has provided the sum of 14 million kuna.

Croatia's tourist Mecca is also implementing the project "Respect the City" for better tourism management, and the Tourism Development Strategy has been adopted until the year 2025. The water supply and sewerage system has been improved, and after more than twenty years, the Grabovica landfill has been modernised.

The city contributed to the work of the Red Cross and HGSS, hospitals and ambulances with donations, and the salaries of firefighters were increased by 15 percent. A number of projects have been implemented, such as the Halo Help project and the News for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which target the elderly and infirm and other groups of Dubrovnik citizens who might require more care.

The city is also responsible for the return of traditional crafts, with strong support for women's entrepreneurship. In addition to the construction of promenades, parking, the enrichment of sports infrastructure and the reconstruction and expansion of the Lapad coastline worth as much as 70 million kuna, they can boast that the construction of the Dubac cemetery is in its first phase, and they are building a retirement home and shelter for vulnerable groups of Dubrovnik citizens.

In May this year, works on the city's water supply and drainage began, worth 44 million kuna, which will also help the nearby Elaphite island of Lopud. The world's first water polo museum is being built in Dubrovnik, as well as a tennis hall in Lapad, and on top of that, a new settlement is being built in Podbrezje, a future place for young Dubrovnik citizens to live.

In this term, the city took over the ownership of Villa Čingrija, where the regional Centre of Competence for Tourism and Hospitality will be located, for which 72.3 million kuna was provided from the European Social Fund.

Dubrovnik is the best "Smart City" in the Republic of Croatia, as evidenced by services such as car sharing systems with electric vehicles, traffic management applications, smart parking, video surveillance of traffic with 120 cameras in fifty places across the city.

A number of roads and parking lots have been arranged, which will likely be excellent news for Dubrovnik citizens who often complain about parking issues. In addition to that, 1,000 new, energy-efficient lamps have been installed. The city also procured its very first articulated buses, and eleven more are arriving, with free internet being readily provided in one hundred city buses.

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June 9, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

June 5, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Pula. 

Croatian Aviation reports that in its latest statement, Emirates further postponed the start of traffic on the Dubai-Zagreb route.

The company first postponed the line to July, then to August, and the latest news is September. Emirates is currently offering sales on the Dubai-Zagreb route from September 1 this year, four times a week; on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have been announced on the route, which has several different configurations in the fleet of this airline, so depending on the registration of the aircraft, they can carry between 354 and 442 passengers.

Considering that Emirates turned the Zagreb line into a seasonal service, and that the partner FlyDubai operates on the route in the winter flight schedule, the chance that Emirates will return to Zagreb this summer is slim. According to the plan, the already mentioned FlyDubai should take over the line from the end of October.

Qatar Airways, a competitor to Emirates (along with Etihad), is still on sale for 3 weeks from the beginning of July to Zagreb, but changes are also possible with this airline in the next two weeks.

The largest aircraft (both in terms of technical specifications and the number of seats in the passenger cabin) in Zagreb was Emirates, while Air Canada Rouge and Korean Air flew with long-range and capacity aircraft to the Croatian capital. However, both have canceled their flights completely for this summer. Air Transat still has a line between Toronto and Zagreb on sale, 3 times a week since the beginning of July.

Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that Swiss airline Edelweiss Air resumed its service from Zurich to Split on June 4. The week, Edelweiss will also arrive on Sunday, June 7. By the end of June, this line will be in service twice a week,  on Thursdays and Sundays, with the Airbus A320 aircraft. From July, the route will operate 5 times a week, or every day except Wednesday and Friday. 

The other two Edelweiss lines for Croatia are planned from July, i.e., the Zurich-Dubrovnik line twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays from July 3, and the Zurich-Pula line, also twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from July 1. 

Finally, Avio Radar reports that Latvian airline Air Baltic will establish a route between Riga and Rijeka from June 17. Flights from Riga were scheduled for July 29, but the carrier decided to launch a month and a half earlier despite the current corona situation. The line will operate on Wednesdays with an Airbus A220-300 instead of last year’s Boeing 737-300.

Air Baltic also announces flights to Split and Dubrovnik from June 20.

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