July 19, 2019 - The new Split Airport terminal opened a few days ago. TCN's Pyatigorsk correspondent road tested it on a recent flight to Moscow. 

One of the many differences between running TCN today and the Total Hvar blog which started this project back in 2011 is access to stories.

Back then, nobody knew about the blog, and I had to physically attend every event to show that we were a credible media. I remember driving to cover the story of a kindergarten playground opening on Hvar and thinking that there must be another way. 

These days, TCN is a little better known, perhaps even more so this evening after my interview with leading portal Index was the number one news story of the day this morning. 

Because we are a bit bigger than when I started, have more than six readers, and cover the whole of Croatia, there are many stories to cover. Technology is our friend too, so it is now a lot easier to report on an event via a third party. With TCN's official financial support not looking rosy, this budget approach is a necessary strategy. 

It also means that a simple idea and a Facebook message to a friend can generate an article with relevant pictures. 

Let me give you an example. I have a really lovely Russian sister-in-law called Julia - all the family prefers her to me, including me - and she was so excited to hear that I was going to harvest lavender that she asked if there was a chance to come and experience it before she flew from Split to Moscow.

You are flying from Split to Moscow, I thought to myself? Hmmm. How about I sort the lavender harvest for you, and you take the pictures and send me your impressions of travelling through the new Split terminal, which opened a few days ago? A great idea, which worked for both parties, especially as Julia did all the work at the harvest and the airport (she is perhaps the best Russian lavender picker on Hvar ever). Here she is below with the lavender - now read on to hear what it was like travelling through the new Split Airport terminal. 

 I arrived at the airport around 6 pm which is quite a busy time of the week. The airport shuttle bus (34 kunas) dropped me next to the main entrance of the old terminal. As soon as I entered the building I was welcomed by a smiley airport girl, who was directing all departure passengers to the new terminal building from the entrance to your left. I have to say I was impressed how big the new building is! Two floors where on the first floor there are at least 20 check-in desks and all of them were open for all flights.

I have to say at the beginning line seemed long, but it was not even 10-15 minutes when I was checked in and finally with no heavy luggage. All gates are on level 2 of the new terminal. You can take the escalator or elevator to go up. On the first floor there is nothing yet, but as soon as you up on the second floor, you see a lot of things there.

The first thing is the security check, and again the line was there but I did not even feel it since about 6 desks were open at the time. You would probably think that the airport was half empty, and I will say that it was full of people. 

The next step was the passport control (with no lines at all), after which you find yourself next to the huge duty-free shop with all you need including sweet memories from Croatia like Domačica and not only that! I am traveling quite a lot and have to say that the new Split Terminal has a lot of available seats in the waiting area which you will not find in every airport. 

So, if you want to relax, you can wait and even charge your phone near your seat (outlet is not next to each seat thought), read a book and have a nice sandwich with kava from one of two cafes. If you have any questions, the information desk is there for you. For families traveling the babies there is baby care. Boarding started right on time and finished fast, and the bus took us to the plane. The tide took no more than 2 minutes. 

To sum up, I have to say the new terminal looks amazing, spacious and with a lot of potential to have more services to offer.

To learn more about Split, check out the Total Croatia Split in a Page guide. 

June 23, 2019 - Ryanair was the budget airline pioneer in Croatia back in 2007 before others took bigger slices of the market. Is that about to change, a change that will include Zagreb?

I am not an airline expert by any means, and one thing which has always confused me about the flight market in Croatia is the position of Ryanair. 

Having lived in Croatia full-time since 2003, I fondly remember the collective expat joy when the Irish airline started operations from London to Zadar back in 2007, offering a much more convenient connection for UK travellers. It is interesting to listen to people today complaining at the lack of winter flights to Split and other such destinations - compared to what was on offer a decade ago, the change has been incredible. 

But having entered the market and transformed Zadar, things did not expand as one might have expected, and other budget airlines, most notably easyJet and Eurowings, quickly overtook Ryanair. In an interesting article today on ExYuAviation about Ryanair being set for expansion in Croatia, the percentages of market share show this quite clearly. 

The low-cost airline has the fifth largest market share in the country this summer, standing at 4.4%. It is behind Croatia Airlines on 31%, easyJet on 9.9%, Eurowings on 8.6% and Lufthansa with a 4.8% market share.

But are things changing, and are we set for a rapid expansion of Ryanair flights to Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb, to name but three?

It took 12 years after that Zadar launch for Ryanair to commence flights to both Split and Dubrovnik, with flights from Dublin only starting this summer. According to the ExYuAviation report, both routes have already been extended into the first week of winter, an encouraging sign for a new route. Ryanair is not the type of airline which services an airport with just one route, so I would expect more Ryanair routes for 2020. Getting into Split and Dubrovnik is the hard part, and now that they have managed that and extended their inaugural schedules, expect more to follow. 

The report also highlights cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board, which has resulted in a 50% increase in the airline's passenger numbers to Zadar, a successful strategy which one would expect to continue. The airline expects to handle 550,000 passengers this year in the Croatian market. 

The most intriguing part of the report, however, is this:

"Ryanair has held positive discussions with the Croatian Minister for Tourism regarding longer-term traffic growth and route development at its existing Croatian airports as well as potential new airports like Zagreb", the company said recently. For its part, Zagreb Airport noted it was seeking models which would allow low-cost carriers to increase their presence in the Croatian capital. 

The quote itself is not new, it was cited by the website mentioning Split as well back in November, but it comes at a time when industry insiders are suggesting that there are talks underway to reopen the old Zagreb terminal and run it as a parallel low-cost hub. As I wrote recently, the two airlines supposedly in discussions are Eurowings and Lauda. You can read the article here. 

And other major budget airlines have confirmed their interest, should Zagreb be able to provide a solution for low-cost airlines:

Commenting on its absence in Zagreb, Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, said recently, "It is a high-priced airport environment with fluctuating demand. Should the costs come down, I think they would attract us".

Such a move would be bad news for Croatia Airlines, of course, but one only has to look a few hundred kilometres north to Budapest to see how an airport can flourish with the passing of a national airline. Jost Lammers, CEO of Budapest Airport, was kind enough to explain to TCN how things changed in Hungary when Malev went bankrupt in 2012. 

If Zagreb had short-haul connectivity anywhere close to what Budapest has, the economic benefits to the Croatian economy would be considerable. The medical tourism industry would be much more competitive, for example, a lucrative industry which experts agree Croatia has the potential to be in the top ten in the world within ten years. And with the explosive growth of the digital nomad market looking to spend their money in countries which offer great connectivity and lifestyle, a budget hub in Zagreb would be one more important step to develop Croatia's place in this equally lucrative market.

And while the official word from Zagreb Airport did not confirm that any of this was happening, it was also not ruled out. 

Lidia Capkovic Martinek, Advisor to the Director of International Airport Jsc. was kind enough to promptly reply to my questions about Eurowings and the use of the old terminal for low-cost carriers. 

"Eurowings currently operates 18 weekly flights to ZAG from 5 different destinations in Germany. As the concessionaire of Zagreb Airport, we are continuously in contact with our existing partners and other carriers, in order to improve air connectivity at Zagreb Airport.

"Currently there is no official plan to use old terminal building for low-cost carriers. But as a private company we would like to utilize our resources at maximum efficiency, therefore we always brainstorm about new ideas and projects."

For the latest flight news from Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.

June 16, 2019 - Is Croatian tourism and business set for a major boost with the old airport terminal in Zagreb about to start a new chapter as a budget airline base?

It is 16 years since I moved to Croatia on a permanent basis, and it is fair to say that there has been considerable change in airline connectivity in that time. Those who today complain about the lack of winter flights from cheap carriers from November to March should look back just a few years to before the arrival of Ryanair in Zadar in 2007. My off-season choices to get from the UK to Hvar, for example, were two-fold - Ryanair to Trieste and then the 11-hour bus journey down the coast to Split and onward ferry, or Ryanair to Graz, train to Zagreb and bus to Split. 

Although Ryanair were the pioneers, they did not expand as quickly in the Croatian market as elsewhere. Indeed it took them 12 years to inaugurate flights to both Split and Dubrovnik, with the first flights only touching down this month. easyJet and Norwegian were much more aggressive in the Croatian market, with the former outpacing the national carrier, Croatia Airlines, by some distance in seasonal passenger numbers to the main coastal airports. But while an increasing number of budget carriers from an ever-expanding list of destinations was servicing the coast, one key airport was seemingly missing out on the low-cost connectivity.

Zagreb. 

It was explained to me that one of the reasons that Zagreb did not have many budget flight options was a decision to protect Croatia Airlines, a national carrier in quite a lot of trouble, but a proud symbol of a young nation. If Croatia Airlines was subjected to the brutal competition of the Ryanairs in its home territory, then it would have little chance of survival. It is an argument which I could understand from the point of view of protecting the status quo, but it made little sense for the Croatian economy. A little envious look a short drive north to Budapest showed that life after a failed national carrier was not only possible but healthy. 

The Hungarian state carrier Malev went bankrupt in 2012, the main player at Budapest Airport. As Budapest Airport CEO Jost Lammers explained in this TCN interview, it did not take Budapest long not only to react, but to thrive, and the airport is much busier and more successful than it was then.

"In fact not only Ryanair but all major airlines reacted very quickly to the new situation. With hindsight I may say that February 2012 clearly demonstrated to us that fierce competition is going on in the world of aviation, and there is no room for market vacuum at all. Even large legacy carriers reacted in less than 24 hours to the bankruptcy of Malév and made quick business decisions to fill in the missing routes. Some arrived with their first flights in Budapest within 72 hours. Of course the winter low season also helped, there was some free capacity at hand for all major airlines to start a new route to Budapest. Discount carriers were of course the quickest to react. Their market share used to be around 25 % when Malév was still around, and it quickly rose to 50-52 % where it stabilized."

I have been working a lot with the medical tourism industry in Croatia in recent months. As with many things here, the potential is phenomenal, but the realities of modern Croatia are holding things back. The Hungarian dental tourism market is estimated at some 600 million euro a year, at least 25% of which Croatia could take if it got organised, according to Keith Pollard, Chief Editor of the industry's leading media, International Medical Travel Journal, in an interview with TCN.

But while the quality of Croatian dental care is as good as any in Eastern Europe, flying to Zagreb from the UK compared to places like Budapest is currently a lot more complicated and expensive, and Croatia's dentists, and a whole range of other businesses and tourism opportunities, are missing out. I asked Lammers about the boost that Budapest's strategy had brought for Hungarian dental tourism:

"It is not only “dental tourism” that has shown strong development. We have close ties with river cruise operators. More than 250 000 people start their holidays on the Danube cruise-ships here in Budapest. These people are flying in through our airport from all over the world, from the US through China to Japan. All in all, I think Budapest has become a remarkable tourism destination offering a very wide variety of entertainment to all customer segments: the traditional Sziget Festival brings in tens of thousands of young people in the summer with backpacks; then Red Bull Air Race and Formula-1 are two major and fabulous technical sport events with lots of spectators. Budapest also has a lot to offer in cultural tourism. For instance, we cooperate closely with the Winter Festival which targets mostly opera and classical music fans."

Zagreb seemed to have moved in a totally different direction which was a lot more prohibitive to the development of budget carriers. A shiny new 330 million euro airport terminal opened in 2017, with prices to match. The arrival of airlines such as Emirates and increased rotations from Qatar, as well as direct seasonal flights from Canada and Seoul increased Croatia's intercontinental access considerably, but Zagreb remained an expensive and poorly served airport for those looking for a cheap flight. 

But is that about to change, and change drastically?

I am not in the habit of publishing rumours for the sake of it. This region is that land of rumours and conspiracy theories, and we would not survive long as a credible portal if we did. But I have heard from several excellent industry sources that something rather exciting - and innovative - is soon to take place at the old (and now unused) airport terminal in Zagreb. 

It will operate as a separate airport structure to the new terminal, but using the same runway, and the old terminal will operate as a new budget airport hub. Two airlines which keep being mentioned are Eurowings and Lauda, and this would be in line with Eurowings' expansion in the region. I contacted both the city of Zagreb and the Ministry of Transport for comment, who both replied quickly suggesting I contact the airport concessionaire for comment.  

According to the various sources, discussions are quite advanced, and if realised, Zagreb would have a rather unusual, but very exciting dual airport system for visitors to choose from. By making Zagreb a lot more accessible, one more obstacle for Croatia's economic development will have been removed. As we have written previously, our increasingly digitalised world will see about one billion digital nomads by 2035. Any country which can be close to the forefront of hosting that industry is going to see their economy revolutionised. Cheap and easy access is an essential part of the package. Croatia already has so many natural advantages to attract digital nomads - EU country, safe, affordable, great Internet connectivity, stunning, English widely-spoken, fantastic gourmet offer, great tourism and lifestyle. And - hopefully, soon - even better connectivity to the rest of Europe and beyond. 

As for digital nomads, so too for dental tourists and a host of other sectors of the Croatian economy which will benefit. 

Should the old terminal be put back into action as a low-cost hub, there are of course a number of questions, most notably about the future of Croatia Airlines. There would also have to be some mechanisms and rules to stop airlines paying higher fees at the new terminal from defecting. One way to ensure this would be to say that the old terminal can only do point-to-point traffic and the fees will only be lower if you provide a certain volume of traffic. 

Lidia Capkovic Martinek, Advisor to the Director of International Airport Jsc. was kind enough to promptly reply to my questions about Eurowings and the use of the old terminal for low-cost carriers. 

"Eurowings currently operates 18 weekly flights to ZAG from 5 different destinations in Germany. As the concessionaire of Zagreb Airport, we are continuously in contact with our existing partners and other carriers, in order to improve air connectivity at Zagreb Airport.

"Currently there is no official plan to use old terminal building for low-cost carriers. But as a private company we would like to utilize our resources at maximum efficiency, therefore we always brainstorm about new ideas and projects."

I was obviously not expecting a direct confirmation from the airport, who announce things like this with their own media strategy, but stating there is no official plan, rather than no plan, suggests perhaps that there might an unofficial plan not yet for public consumption. And is this private company is looking to use its 'resources at maximum efficiency', one would assume that that would include how to get better use of a major asset such as the old terminal. 

Stay tuned. 

For a comprehensive guide to the new Zagreb Airport terminal, check out the Total Croatia guide. 

For more information on the latest flight news to Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN page. 

June 2, 2019 - It has taken many years of discussion, but low-cost airline Ryanair finally landed in Dubrovnik from Dublin this afternoon. 

The first week of June has two very significant - and very different - firsts for Dubrovnik Airport. 

All eyes will be on the airport later this week, as the first direct flight from the United States since the war will touch down, with American Airlines beginning a direct service from Philadelphia. TCN will be on board and bring you the full story. 

Also very significant was a flight which has just landed from Dublin. After many years of discussions and reporting of imminent agreements, the first Ryanair flight has now landed at Dubrovnik. 

The low-cost carrier has been trying to fly into Dubrovnik for years, but the business model of concessions and reduced prices were at odds with Dubrovnik's general policy. As previously reported on TCN, eyebrows were raised in early December when Ryanair announced flights to both Split and Dubrovnik, with Dubrovnik Airport claiming to have no knowledge of the arrangement - from the TCN December report:

Josip Paljetak from Dubrovnik Airport has said that they have had no official information from Ryanair at all. He pointed out that the company hasn't even contacted the airport this year.

"We were very surprised to see that they'd announced flights from Dublin, and it's very strange that they've started selling tickets for flights which they never agreed upon with the airport. We don't even know if we can accept their planes for when they say they want the flights,'' Paljetak said.

It would appear that all issues and miscommunications are now resolved, and the Irish carrier will fly four times a week from Dublin to Dubrovnik during the season. A similar schedule started between Dublin and Split yesterday. 

Previous discussions reported about Ryanair interest in Dubrovnik have centred around the topic of year-round flights. Could today's groundbreaking flight be opening the door to a 12-month service, something that would be warmly welcomed by tourists and residents alike?

To learn more about Dubrovnik Airport, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik Airport guide. 

January 7, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia, with updates to Pula and Dubrovnik. 

Flights to Croatia: Ryanair from Dublin to Split and Dubrovnik

Ryanair has announced that they are launching their first flights to Dubrovnik and Split from Dublin, four times a week from June, as part of its largest Croatian summer schedule so far. The 2019 summer schedule also includes flights from Zadar to Cologne, Hamburg and Nuremberg, reports HRTurizam. 

"Ryanair is pleased to announce our first flights from Dubrovnik and Split to Dublin, which will run four times per week from June, as part of the expanded summer schedule in 2019, which also includes new flights from Zadar to Cologne, Hamburg, and Nuremberg,” said Ivana Hanjš, executive director of sales and marketing for Europe.

Flights to Croatia: S7 to Dubrovnik and Pula

Russian airline S7 has also announced they’ll be boosting operations to both of their destinations in Croatia for the 2019 summer, reports AvioRadar.

Namely, on the line between Dubrovnik and Moscow (Domodedovo airport), S7 will operate using the larger Boeing 737-800 aircraft instead of the Airbus A319 aircraft. Flights will continue to work twice a week, on Monday and Friday, over the same period as last year. 

On the line between Pula and Moscow (Domodedovo), S7 has announced an additional line on Saturdays. Thus, instead of last year’s five flights per week, S7 will now operate between the two cities six times a week. There will be no flights on Tuesdays and Sundays. 

The Pula-Saint Petersburg line remains unchanged and will run as it did last year - once a week on Sundays. 

Flights to Croatia: El Al from Tel Aviv to Dubrovnik

Ex Yu Aviation announced that Israel's national carrier El Al has also announced a new seasonal flight between Tel Aviv and Dubrovnik. The Israeli airline will fly once a week between the two cities, on Tuesdays, beginning June 4, 2019. Operations will end on September 24, 2019. El Al will operate using the 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

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

December 31, 2018 - Great news for Irish tourists and the ever larger Croatian diaspora in Ireland, as Croatia Airlines will operate its Zagreb to Dublin service all year.

Some nice end of year news for those looking to travel between Croatia and Ireland. 

Flight portal Avioradar is reporting that Croatia Airlines will increase the frequency of its service from Zagreb to Dublin in 2019, making it a year-round connection between the Irish and Croatian capitals. 

Next year's flights will begin on April 9, with three weekly flights. The route will then continue through the winter from October 27, with two flights a week. For the full schedule, check out the original Avioradar report. 

With the all-year route will be welcome for Irish tourists, it is arguably much more useful for the growing number of young Croatian diaspora, who have moved to Ireland in recent years. 

With EU entry in July 2013, many European labour markets opened up to Croatians. While the UK has some initial restrictions, Ireland did not, and it was the only English-speaking country in the EU where Croatians could legally work. More than 10,000 have made the move so far. 

To keep in touch with the latest flight news to Croatia for 2019, follow the dedicated TCN flights page. 

December 3, 2018 - Eleven years after entering the Croatian market in Zadar, a great addition to the flights to Croatia 2019 story: Ryanair to Split and Dubrovnik.

Flights to Croatia 2019 just got easier for Irish tourists (and the growing Croatian diaspora in Ireland), as Ryanair has announced two new routes to the Adriatic for next summer - Dublin to Split and Dubrovnik, reports the Irish Independent.

TCN reported 3 weeks ago that Ryanair was in discussions with Split and Zagreb, while the Irish carrier has been talking to Dubrovnik for some time. The sticking point for both Split and Dubrovnik in the past has been giving preferential pricing treatment to Ryanair, whose successful business model is well-known.

It is 11 years since Ryanair changed the landscape in Croatian aviation - and Zadar in particular - by pioneering low-cost flights to the former Dalmatian capital. And yet, while Ryanair took a march on its rivals 11 years ago, it has never really capitalised on that early success. Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik have remained closed to Ryanair's planes. In the interim, easyJet has become the second most popular airline in Croatia.

Until today. 

The Dublin flights to Split and Dubrovnik will commence in June, and we will bring you more details of the schedule as we have it. You can follow the TCN Flights to Croatia 2019 page here. With both Split and Dubrovnik booming and not needing to give financial concessions, and with Ryanair famous for extracting the best deals, it would be interesting to see the fine print of the detail, not that I expect it to be made public. 

One airline which may be less than happy by the news is Croatia Airlines, which is already struggling, and the arrival of Europe's most successful airline in the two biggest tourists airport in the country will hardly be welcome news. 

December 1, 2018 - The latest news from around Croatia's airports for new flights to Croatia 2019, with updates from Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Split and Zagreb airports.

It has been another busy few days for the airports of Croatia, as they gear up for what is certain to be a bumper 2019 season. An overview of the latest news regarding flights to Croatia 2019. 

Flights to Rijeka - Lufthansa Meets the European City of Culture 2020

These are good times for Rijeka Airport, located on the island of Krk. More new flight announcements are coming, as the city gears up to become the European City of Culture 2019, with the latest addition from one of Europe's top carriers. Lufthansa has announced that it will begin operations in the Kvarner region, with the German carrier commencing weekly flights from Munich to Rijeka each Saturday evening, starting on May 25 until October 26. The new Lufthansa flight adds to the three weekly connections to the Bavarian capital from Croatia Airlines - check out the timetable with Avioradar. 

Flights to Croatia 2019 - Volotea to Connect Athens and Dubrovnik

Low-cost Spanish airline Volotea continues its expansion in the Croatian market, with its latest flight announcement a new route from Athens to Dubrovnik, where it will compete directly with both Aegean and Croatia Airlines. The new flights will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from April 27 to August 31. For the flight schedule, check out ExYuAviation. 

Flights to Split - Finnair Strengthens Dalmatia, Leaves Pula

Finnish tourism interest in Croatia, in particular Dalmatia, is on the rise,and national carrier Finnair has announced that it will be increasing its services to Split for 2019. Finnair will be offering six flights a week between the Finnish and Dalmatian capitals, with the first flight commencing on April 16 until October 23. Finnair's connections with Dubrovnik will remain at the same level as this year, but the airline has decided to cease operations to Pula. Check out the flight schedules here.  

Flights to Zagreb - the Return of FlyDubai and Celebrations for Croatia Airlines and Turkish Airlines

The livery of FlyDubai will be seen once more in Zagreb, from as early as this weekend, as the low-cost Gulf carrier interchanges with Emirates to maximise load factor, as previously reported by TCN. In other Zagreb news, it was a moment of celebration for both Croatia Airlines, which welcomed its 2 millionth passenger of the year, while Turkish Airlines - which has become a strong regional player in recent years - celebrated 20 years of operations in the Croatian capital. 

(Photo credit - Rijeka Airport Facebook page)

Eurowings - Promoting Kvarner Tourism and a Zadar Codeshare with Austrian Airlines

Some nice promotion for the Kvarner region by Eurowings, whose planes are now adorned with promotional advertising for Kvarner, as shown in the photos above posted by the Rijeka Airport Facebook page. 

Meanwhile in Zadar, Eurowings has arranged a codeshare agreement with Austrian Airlines.

To follow the latest news about flights to Croatia 2019, follow the dedicated TCN section.

November 10, 2018 - The latest flights to Croatia roundup, with El Al starting direct flights to Dubrovnik, Ryanair expanding, Volotea moving into Rijeka, and more records smashed at Croatian airports.

New Direct Flights to Croatia - El Al from Tel Aviv to Dubrovnik

Isreali interest in Croatia has been steadily increasing in recent months, with Croatia's controversial US$500 million purchase of Israeli F16s, a shift in the Croatian position in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, as well as a raft of business announcements. The latest strengthening of ties comes with the announcement that El Al will start the first-ever direct flights to Dubrovnik from Israel, starting on June 4. The weekly Tuesday flight will run under the tourist brand Sun d'Or until September 24, and the new route will be in addition to the longer running connection between Tel Aviv and Zagreb. The flights to Zagreb will be three times a week from April 2 to October 23 - all details of timetables can be found via Avioradar. 

Flights to Rijeka - Welcome Volotea!

Volotea's steady expansion in the Croatian market continues, and the Spanish low-cost carrier has announced its first flight to Rijeka, European City of Culture in 2020. And if you are quick, promotional tickets are just 9 euro. The new route will be once a week from Marseilles, and it will run from June 6 to August 28. 

New flights to Pula from easyJet and Volotea

More easyJet love for Istria, as the famous orange and white livery will be connecting Pula with Amsterdam next summer, as already reported by TCN. 

It is not the only new route to Pula to be announced this week. Having already established Nantes to Pula, Volotea will commence direct flights to Pula from Bordeaux once a week on June 5, reports Avioradar.

More flights to Split with Wideroe

No market has opened up to Dalmatia as much as the Scandinavian market with the arrival of budget flights, and national carrier Norwegian can be credited with a major part in establishing the market. Where one goes, others follow, and yet one more option for Norwegian tourists next summer, as Wideroe has announced another charter option from Oslo Torp to Split. 

Cheap Flights to Croatia - Ryanair to add more Zadar Routes

Despite being the first to enter the low-cost market in Croatia back in 2007, Ryanair has not expanded as much as easyJet, Norwegian or some other competitors. It seems that some efforts to addressing this will come next year. 

"The budget airline, which last year held a 5% capacity share in Croatia and was well behind rivals such as easyJet and Eurowings on the market, will strengthen its seasonal base in Zadar next year with the launch of up to eight new routes. The carrier has already scheduled new services from Hamburg, Prague, Cologne, and Nuremberg to the Croatian coastal city next summer. However, it is expected that the no frills airline will no longer have an aircraft stationed in Croatia." Read the full story of Ryanair's plans for both Croatia and the wider region on ExYuAviation.

Flights to Croatia - more record passenger numbers to Croatian airports

The records keep on tumbling. More information on record passenger numbers in two TCN reports this week - Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik airports set October record, and  Airports See 10.5% More Passengers than Last Year.

For the latest flight news to Croatia, follow our dedicated page

September 27, 2018 - The Croatian intercontinental flight connections continue to improve - Toronto to the Dalmatian coast for summer 2019!