July 11, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Trade Air domestic lines are delayed further until August 1, and Ryanair plans to restore its Zagreb network after months of flight reductions and suspensions. 

Croatian private airline Trade Air has once again postponed its domestic PSO lines, which was previously announced on July 18, reports Croatian Aviation. 

As stated in the announcement on the airline's official website, Trade Air is once again postponing the start of operations on domestic PSO lines. The mentioned lines have been suspended since May, and the beginning of operations was first announced for June, then July 1, then July 18, and now the lines won't run until August 1 of this year.

The announcement states that the airline will start the routes on the specified date after all the confirmations from the relevant authorities have been collected. Information was also provided that the tickets will not go on sale before July 20 this year.

These lines are crucial for Osijek Airport and other airports, especially in the winter flight schedule.

Osijek - Zagreb - Osijek,

Osijek - Pula - Split - Pula - Osijek,

Osijek - Rijeka - Osijek,

Osijek - Zadar - Osijek,

Zadar - Rijeka - Zadar,

Rijeka - Split - Dubrovnik - Split - Rijeka.

Poland's Sprint Air will operate on the Trade Air lines mentioned, and passengers can only hope that this is the last delay in re-establishing the mentioned lines, adds Croatian Aviation. 

In other news, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Ryanair plans to restore its Zagreb network after months of reductions and suspensions.

The airline thus plans to bring back its third aircraft to resume operations to Basel, Sofia, and Brindisi and restore frequencies on many routes, including to Baden Baden, Bergamo, Beauvais, Charleroi, Gothenburg, Hahn, Malaga, Malmo, Malta, Memmingen, Paphos, Sandefjord, and Weeze. In addition, the route between Zagreb and Corfu will remain at one weekly rotation. 

“Ryanair is Europe’s and Croatia’s number one airline. We have seen strong summer bookings to date from Zagreb with a total of 27 routes. Ryanair’s three Zagreb-based aircraft represent an investment of 300 million US dollars, which will support over ninety highly paid aviation jobs and over 1.000 total jobs in Zagreb. As we look forward with a strong summer of bookings to/from Zagreb, Ryanair will operate almost eighty weekly flights (over thirty more than last year) to give our Zagreb customers an abundance of choices to top European destinations like London, Milan, and Paris or popular holiday hotspots like Brindisi, Corfu and Malaga, whilst giving Zagreb inbound tourism a boost after two lost years," said the airline. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

July 7, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as almost all Scandinavian Airlines flights to Split and Pula have been canceled due to an airline strike. 

There has been speculation about the possibility of a SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight staff strike, and while there was a delay, and a potential agreement, the staff of this airline is now on strike, which has resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights throughout Europe, including destinations in Croatia, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Scandinavian Airlines pilots are on strike for several days, which has resulted in the cancellation of a number of flights to destinations in Europe, including flights to Split and Pula. The carrier operated flights only to Dubrovnik Airport.

Namely, on Wednesday, July 6, SAS canceled all 8 announced flights to and from Split Airport. These are destinations in Scandinavia, such as Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Bergen, and flights scheduled for Thursday, July 7, six in total, have also been canceled.

Apparently, the cancellations will continue until the strike is over, but given that the airline is in financial trouble, the question is how the whole story will end. Namely, the carrier started the restructuring process in the USA, but the possibility of bankruptcy is being mentioned.

In addition to Split, the carrier canceled two of the three scheduled flights to Pula Airport this Wednesday, as well as the flight to Oslo, announced this Thursday. The airline invites passengers to arrive at the airport from which they start their journey significantly earlier than usual in order to find alternative transportation (flights with other airlines), but due to the peak summer season, they also note that there is a high probability that the trip will not be possible within a reasonable time due to the occupancy of other flights.

Due to all these problems, the airline offers a free change of travel date, but this is little consolation to all those who planned their vacation months in advance.

At Split Airport, there are hundreds of passengers who booked this airline and are having trouble getting back to their homes due to canceled flights, especially since other carriers operating to and from Split Airport are almost fully booked, which is expected at the beginning of July, one of the two strongest summer months.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

July 4, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Iberia Croatia flights are boosted from Madrid to Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, running daily by the end of the month! 

Spanish airline and OneWorld alliance member Iberia has increased the number of flights to Croatian airports this month, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Compared to June, Iberia offers a greater number of weekly operations to three Croatian airports from its main hub in Madrid this month. Namely, Iberia will increase the number of operations to Split and Dubrovnik at the end of July, and for now, daily flights to these two cities have been announced in August.

Between Madrid and Zagreb, Iberia plans to operate a total of 14 return flights in July, and flights are available three times a week, on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. From July 30, flights are available daily until the end of August.

Between Split and Madrid, Iberia currently operates on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and from the end of July, an increase in weekly operations has been announced on this line as well, from the existing 3 to a total of 7 flights per week (daily)! 

Unlike Split and Zagreb, Iberia already operates daily to Dubrovnik Airport, and 7 flights per week are planned until the end of July. Since the beginning of August, the Spanish airline has offered two daily flights on this route (14 per week), but there is still a possibility of reducing the announced number of flights on this route for August. 

In total, 58 return flights are available on Iberia's routes between Madrid, Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb in July, mostly with A320 aircraft, which in the fleet of this carrier have a capacity of between 136 and 171 seats. In July alone, more than 18,000 seats are available on the mentioned lines! 

Before the global pandemic, Iberia operated in the winter months to Dubrovnik and Zagreb, but after the end of the lockdown in Europe, the lines operated as seasonal. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

July 1, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Air France Croatia flights are significantly boosted this month to Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik airports. 

French national airline Air France will significantly increase the number of weekly operations to Croatian airports in July from its main hub in Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, reports Croatian Aviation. 

In the first 10 days of July, Air France significantly increases the number of weekly flights to three Croatian airports. A second daily flight to Zagreb is being introduced, traffic to Split is being restored, and the number of weekly operations to Dubrovnik is increasing.

Second daily flight to Zagreb
Throughout the year, Air France operates daily between Paris and Zagreb in the afternoon hours. Until now, HOP operated on the route with E90 aircraft, and from July 9, Air France aircraft will also operate on this route, namely A318, A 319, and A320.

Additionally, from the same date, a second daily flight to Zagreb will be introduced, which will operate every day, except Saturdays, in the morning hours. Only Air France aircraft, A319, and A320, were announced on this line in July.

From the mentioned date, Zagreb will have three daily flights from and to Paris, and one daily flight on this route is operated by Croatia Airlines, on which Air France has code-share cooperation with the Croatian national airline.

Return to Split Airport
Air France is returning to Split Airport at the beginning of July. Six flights a week have been announced, every day except Saturdays. HOP with E90 aircraft will operate on the route for Air France. 

Croatia Airlines also operates on this route with A319 aircraft, as well as low-cost airlines such as easyJet.

More operations to Dubrovnik
The French airline has operated to Dubrovnik Airport for some time. The first flight of this season took place on May 1, but from July 10 the number of flights will increase from two to a total of seven flights per week. In addition to A319 and A320 aircraft, A321 aircraft, which in the Air France fleet have a capacity of 212 seats, will also frequently fly to Dubrovnik.

Additionally, Air France will introduce a second daily flight between Dubrovnik and Paris, on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so it will operate between the two cities 11 times a week. In addition to Air France, Croatia Airlines and British easyJet operate on this route.

In total, from the beginning of July, Air France will operate between Paris and the three mentioned Croatian airports more than 30 times a week, which exceeds the figures from the record summer season of 2019, especially in terms of the capacity offered.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 30, 2022 - Border controls should be lifted at Croatian airports from March 26, 2023, as Croatia becomes part of the single Schengen area. This means that the 2023 Croatia summer flight schedule will kick off with new rules. 

When the Republic of Croatia becomes part of the single Schengen area on January 1 next year, travel from or to Croatian airports will be significantly easier, writes Croatian Aviation. 

On Wednesday, the EU Council proposed that border controls at Croatia's land and sea borders with Schengen countries be abolished from January 1, 2023, and at airports from March 26 next year. Thus, at the beginning of the new year, Croatia should become a member of the Schengen area, which will simplify travel to and from Croatian airports.

If all goes well, border controls will be lifted on January 1 at seaports and road border crossings, while the same should take effect on March 26 at all Croatian airports.

Namely, with the stated date, the summer flight schedule comes into force, so it is logistically easier to make the change just then, and at the same time the airports are given enough time to prepare.

At Croatian airports, it is necessary to change the existing passenger flows, given that currently there are fewer departures at airports for flights within the Republic of Croatia, while now flights to and from all Schengen member states will be treated as "domestic".

This means that passengers traveling from Croatia on direct flights to destinations in the member states of this area (26 European countries), after checking in for the flight and security control, will go to the exit for their flight without crossing the border or police control.

All Croatian airports must have the infrastructural possibility of separating passengers arriving or departing to destinations in the Schengen area, as well as to destinations outside it.

This means that, for example, when traveling from Zagreb to Split, Osijek, Vienna, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or any other destination located in a Schengen member country, the exit to the aircraft will go without checking your identity document, but the border control still exists when traveling to Istanbul, London, Doha, Dubai, Sarajevo, Belgrade or other destinations outside Schengen. The same, of course, applies to all other Croatian airports.

Croatian airports have enough time to prepare and change passenger flows until the spring of 2023 when Croatia finally feels another advantage of membership in the European Union, and preparations have been underway for months.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

July 29, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as KLM Croatia capacity has been boosted to Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, Norwegian resumes its Zagreb route, and Trade Air pushes back operations until July 18. 

Dutch national airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has significantly increased its capacity to three Croatian airports in July - Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, reports Croatian Aviation. 

KLM will continue to operate twice a day between Zagreb and Amsterdam in July, but there will be a significant increase in capacity. Namely, until now, E190 aircraft operated between the two cities, but now B737-700 and B737-800 aircraft will operate on two daily flights. Namely, E190 aircraft has a capacity of 100 seats, while Boeing family aircraft have 132 and 186 seats, respectively.

While the number of weekly operations between Zagreb and Amsterdam will remain the same, the number of weekly flights will increase to Dubrovnik Airport.

Namely, until now, KLM has operated on this route only on Saturdays and Sundays since the beginning of the summer flight schedule, but from the beginning of July, this line will be in daily traffic, also with B737-800 aircraft.

KLM already operates to Split on a daily basis, but on weekdays mainly with the Embraer fleet. From the beginning of July, B737-800 and B737-700 aircraft will operate between the two cities, and the number of daily flights will increase from one to two or even three daily flights.

The Dutch carrier will have six daily flights to three Croatian airports in July, offering a wide network of connections through its hub in Amsterdam.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that well-known low-cost airline Norwegian resumed traffic on the regular seasonal route between Copenhagen and Zagreb on June 25, which had been suspended since the 2019 summer flight schedule.

On this seasonal line, the only one on which Norwegian currently operates to Zagreb, two flights a week are available, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, until mid-August.

Namely, the last flight is planned for Saturday, August 13, so this airline will offer a total of 18 return flights between the two cities this summer, ie 6,048 seats in both directions on its B737-800 aircraft.

Interestingly, one A320 aircraft of the Croatian private airline, Trade Air, is currently leased for this well-known low-cost carrier, but it is based in Stockholm, so it is unlikely that it will fly to Zagreb Airport this summer under the Norwegian flight number.

On the regular route between Copenhagen and Zagreb, the Croatian national airline, Croatia Airlines, operates throughout the year, and in the summer flight schedule, Croatia also operates on the regular route between Copenhagen and Split, three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Although the competent Ministry announced that Croatia Airlines and Trade Air will operate on domestic PSO routes in the next four years, with operations on domestic routes at the beginning of July, this will not happen, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Trade Air announced on its official website that domestic PSO flights will not be established until July 18 this year. Namely, earlier on the carrier's website, there was information that flights are expected from this Friday, July 1, but that will not happen.

The new information states that Trade Air will re-establish PSO routes from July 18 this year, with sales open only from July 8, and that further information will be published on the official website and social networks of the airline.

As a reminder, this summer Trade Air should operate on the following routes:

Osijek - Zagreb - Osijek,

Osijek - Pula - Split - Pula - Osijek,

Osijek - Rijeka - Osijek,

Rijeka - Split - Dubrovnik - Split - Rijeka,

Osijek - Zadar - Osijek, and

Rijeka - Zadar - Rijeka.

The number of weekly frequencies remains the same as in the previous four-year period, except for the lines between Osijek and Zadar and Rijeka and Zadar, which will be in traffic once a week.

Although the number of weekly flights will remain the same, the capacity will increase significantly as the Saab340 aircraft with a capacity of 34 seats will operate on the routes instead of the Turbolet L410 (19-seat capacity).

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 28, 2022 - The latest flight news as Croatia flight cancelations in July from Eurowings, Austrian, Lufthansa, and easyJet have been announced. 

Eurowings, Lufthansa, and Austrian Airlines have canceled a total of 55 return flights to Croatian airports announced in July this year, all to ensure regular operations due to a lack of staff within the airlines and at the airports to which they operate, reports Croatian Aviation. 

The three mentioned Lufthansa Group carriers canceled 55 return flights to Zagreb, Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik.

Lufthansa has reduced the number of flights on only one route to Croatia, between Zagreb and Munich, so in July, it will operate 6 instead of 7 times a week on this route, for a total of 28 return flights.

Low-cost airline Eurowings reduces traffic on 10 international routes to six Croatian airports:

Cologne - Rijeka, instead of 13, announced 9 flights (canceled 4),

Cologne - Zadar, instead of 13, announced 9 flights (canceled 4),

Cologne - Zagreb, instead of 26, 14 flights announced (12 canceled),

Cologne - Dubrovnik, suspended line, last flight performed on June 12,

Dusseldorf - Rijeka, instead of 14, 11 flights announced (3 canceled),

Dusseldorf - Zagreb, instead of 13, 9 flights announced (4 canceled),

Stuttgart - Pula, instead of 7, 6 flights announced (1 canceled),

Stuttgart - Rijeka, instead of 9, 6 flights announced (3 canceled),

Stuttgart - Split, instead of 41, 38 flights announced (3 canceled),

Stuttgart - Zagreb, instead of 23, announced 14 flights (canceled 9),

In July, Austrian Airlines continues to operate daily to Adriatic airports, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik, but significantly reduces the number of flights to Zagreb airport. 

Instead of 53 scheduled return flights in July, Austrian has canceled 9 and now plans 44 flights on this route for July.

The Lufthansa Group is no exception among carriers. Companies and airports were not ready for high demand this summer, resulting in a shortage of workforce in all segments of air transport, from a lack of flight and cabin staff to the crew at airports (check-in, loading, and unloading of luggage, general reception and departure of passengers and aircraft). There are also standard problems with the workforce in air traffic control, which is why aircraft in the summer months rarely take off (and land) according to the planned flight schedule.

Given that the number of monthly flights by the Lufthansa Group to Croatian airports is relatively large, 55 canceled flights to Croatia in July is not a huge number, especially if this will relieve the pressure on the previously mentioned stakeholders and enable some normalization of air traffic in the peak season. 

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that British low-cost airline easyJet canceled 15 return flights previously announced to three Croatian airports - Pula, Rijeka, and Split. The airline also cites major operational problems at airports in London (Gatwick) and Paris (Charles de Gaulle).

On the route from London (Gatwick) to Pula, easyJet offered 27 return flights in July until Sunday, but three flights were canceled, and 24 are now available for booking.

There were supposed to be 13 return flights between Paris and Pula in July, but easyJet canceled four return flights, and only nine are now available.

easyJet has the largest number of summer flights to Split Airport, to which only six flights are currently canceled. Namely, between Gatwick and Split, 95 return flights are planned in July (previously 99), while between Paris and Split, 38 return flights are now available (previously 40).

easyJet continuously cancels flights on the new route between Rijeka and London, originally announced twice a week. The airline also cut the weekly operations in July and canceled announced flights on Tuesdays, leaving only flights on Saturdays on sale. For now, only flights on July 5 and 12 have been canceled, but the carrier has not yet revised the flight schedule for the second half of July, so further reductions may happen. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 25, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as the Finnair Helsinki-Zagreb route will end on July 31st this year instead of the originally scheduled end date of September 29. The airline still plans to return to the Croatian capital next year. 

Ex Yu Aviation reports that the Finnair Helsinki-Zagreb route will end on July 31, which is two months ahead of the originally scheduled end date. The final flight will be operated by Nordic Regional Airlines with its 100-seat Embraer E190 aircraft. The Finnair seasonal route was meant to run until September 29 and no reason has been given for its cancellation. The Helsinki-Zagreb route was launched on May 1 with three flights a week, operated on Airbus A319 aircraft. 

However, Finnair plans to return to Zagreb next year, on April 30, with three flights a week on the same line. It is interesting to note that Finnair is the only airline to operate the Helsinki-Zagreb service. While Croatia Airlines ran summer flights between Helsinki and Zagreb in 2017, the line was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and has yet to be restored, and without any plans to re-launch the service. Finnair will continue to operate to Split and Dubrovnik until October 29, or the end of the summer flight schedule. 

Finnair also sacked its plans to Ljubljana this year, which ran seasonally until the coronavirus pandemic and was meant to be relaunched this summer. However, the airline should return to Ljubljana from May 2, 2023, with four flights per week.

"Slovenia and Croatia are very popular leisure destinations from Finland. A lot of the travel is point to point but we do see an increase in transfer traffic as well, those destinations are becoming increasingly popular among our Asian customers, particularly from Japan", the airline said.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 21, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 4-weekly Lisbon-Zagreb flights will run in July as the only direct line connecting Portugal and Croatia. 

Portuguese national airline TAP Portugal will operate between Lisbon and Zagreb in July four times a week, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Lisbon and Zagreb will be connected by a direct TAP line four times a week in July, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In this year's summer flight schedule, the Portuguese airline restarted the line between the two cities, and Croatia Airlines operated on it until the pandemic outbreak.

In July, the peak summer season, a total of 5,300 seats are available on 19 return flights on the only direct line between Croatia and Portugal. 

TAP will use several different aircraft types on this line in July, the 106-seat Embraer E190, the A319, A320, and A320NEO.

According to currently available data, the Portuguese airline will operate between Zagreb and Lisbon until the end of this year's summer flight schedule, i.e., on October 29 this year.

Unlike major European hubs, such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and London, Lisbon has no major operational problems, so flights are mostly scheduled according to plan.

Zagreb International Airport recently released monthly statistics for May, when a total of 265,317 passengers passed through this airport.

In the first five months of this year, Zagreb exceeded one million passengers (a total of 1,006,473), while in the whole of 2021, there were 1,404,478. Compared to the previous two years, the positive recovery continues, so that in May this year alone, more than 265 thousand passengers arrived and were dispatched.

Most passengers arrived in Zagreb on Croatia Airlines, Ryanair, KLM-Air France, and Lufthansa Group airlines, which account for the largest share of total traffic from the Croatian capital.

Compared to May 2019, there were 46,000 fewer passengers in Zagreb last month. However, the positive trend is expected to continue in the coming summer months.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June 15, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Iberia Croatia flights will be boosted from Madrid next month, namely running from Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik airports. 

Spanish airline Iberia, a Oneworld alliance member, plans to increase the number of weekly flights between Madrid and Croatian airports in July, reports Croatian Aviation.

The Spanish national airline already operates regular routes from its main base in Madrid to Split, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb.

Between Zagreb and Madrid, Iberia plans three flights a week in July, every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, while in the last week of July the number of weekly operations will increase to five. The airline is still selling daily flights between Zagreb and Madrid in August, but there is a possibility that will change.

Sixteen return flights between the two cities have been announced for July, exclusively with A320 aircraft, so 4,928 seats will be available on this route next month.

The Madrid - Split - Madrid line is currently running three times a week, while four flights a week have been announced for July; on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, also with A320 aircraft.

Seventeen return flights were announced on this route in July, and 5,236 seats are currently available.

Dubrovnik and Madrid should be connected on a daily basis in July. Iberia is planning daily operations with A320 and A319 aircraft announced on the route, and a total of 9,528 seats are available on 31 return flights in July.

Between Madrid and the three mentioned Croatian airports, Iberia is offering almost 20,000 seats in July. In addition to point-to-point passengers, the line is used by a significant number of transfer passengers, primarily from North and South America, given that according to destinations on the mentioned continents Iberia Airlines has developed a quality network of routes.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.