March 17, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as United Airlines Dubrovnik flights return from May 27, connecting Newark Airport and the Adriatic Pearl until October 26 this year. 

Dubrovacki Dnevnik and Ex Yu Aviation have announced that United Airlines will continue flights between New York's Newark Airport and Dubrovnik this year. The carrier will resume operations on May 27 with a planned four-weekly rotation. Furthermore, the American carrier has expanded its flight program to Dubrovnik with services until the end of the 2022 summer season, which is October 26.

Last year, United Airlines flew from June 2 to early October and offered more than 22,500 seats in both directions on its four-weekly flight between New York and Dubrovnik. This year, all flights will be operated by a Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

On the other hand, Delta will not continue flights with the Croatian coastal city this summer, after launching flights from New York's JFK Airport last year. A similar scenario happened with American Airlines, which introduced seasonal flights from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik in 2019, and was due to return in 2020 with additional services and capacity. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline postponed the route indefinitely.

Brian Znotins, vice president of network and scheduling at American Airlines, said the company would "undertake a holistic assessment" of its Dubrovnik route in the coming years to determine whether it would potentially resume flights, depending on how demand and competition have changed.

“There’s nothing to say we won’t necessarily restart flights,” Znotins said, adding that Philadelphia is a “natural attraction” for using new aircraft coming to boost service in Europe. 

“Flights from the US performed well above our expectations. These incoming tourists stay in Dubrovnik, which serves as a base for them to explore other places - nearby islands and Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, these flights are important as they have enabled cargo transport to the United States. As a result, each aircraft departs with around ten tons of exportable goods to the States," Dubrovnik Airport General Manager, Frano Luetić, said last year for Ex Yu Aviation.

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

March 15, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Austrian Airlines Croatia flights will operate 23 times per week from the beginning of the summer flight schedule. 

Austrian national airline and Lufthansa Group member Austrian Airlines will renew seasonal routes from Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik from the end of March, and to Zadar in early April. There will also be an increase in the number of weekly operations at Zagreb International Airport, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Austrian Airlines is reintroducing seasonal routes from its main hub in Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik at the beginning of the summer flight schedule, which begins on March 27 this year. In the first days of April, traffic will resume between Vienna and Zadar Airport.

The first flight between Vienna and Split has been announced for Sunday, March 27. At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, Austrian will operate between the two cities 6 times a week, every day except Tuesdays. Already in the second half of April, there will be an increase in the number of flights on a daily basis.

In the first seven rotations to Split, Embraer 195 aircraft will operate, as well as the largest aircraft from the A320 family, the A321. Currently, there are 2,000 seats in that period.

There will be a similar flight schedule at the beginning of the season to Dubrovnik Airport. Five flights a week have been announced, starting on March 27, every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there will also be an increase in the number of rotations by the Easter holiday.

1,872 seats are available on the first 7 flights between Dubrovnik and Vienna, and A320 and E195 aircraft will operate on the route.

Austrian will introduce a line to Zadar a little later than Split and Dubrovnik. The first flight has been announced for Saturday, April 9, and three flights a week have been announced at the start of the season, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Prior to the pandemic, the Austrian airline operated twice a day to Zagreb, but this route has not yet returned to its 2019 capacity. Apparently, this will not happen at the beginning of this summer season either, although there will be an increase in weekly rotations.

Namely, from Sunday, March 27, Austrian will operate between Vienna and Zagreb eight times a week, every day except Wednesday, with two flights a day announced on Fridays and Sundays.

From Sunday, March 27, to Sunday, March 3, Austrian will offer 2,160 seats to and from Zagreb. Namely, as the airline retired all DashQ400 aircraft in June last year, Embraer 195 aircraft with a capacity of 120 seats will fly to Zagreb, so the previously mentioned smaller number of flights was compensated by increasing capacity or changing the type of aircraft on the route.

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

March 14, 2022 -  The latest flight news to Croatia as KLM flights to Split and Dubrovnik resume from March 27, and two daily flights to Zagreb Airport continue. 

Dutch national airline KLM Dutch Airlines reintroduces regular seasonal lines to Split and Dubrovnik with the start of the summer flight schedule, which comes into force at the end of this month, reports Croatian Aviation.

While KLM will re-introduce regular flights from Amsterdam to Split and Dubrovnik from Sunday, March 27, the Dutch airline continues to operate twice a day to Zagreb Airport.

The first flight to Split Airport in this year's summer flight schedule has been announced for Sunday, March 27. Initially, two flights a week have been announced, every Saturday and Sunday. Before the Easter holiday, the airline is planning a number of operations, and from the end of April, KLM should operate daily between Split and Amsterdam. In the peak summer season, up to three daily flights between Amsterdam and Split of this airline are expected.

KLM will also resume traffic to Dubrovnik on the first day of the summer flight schedule, on the Amsterdam line that was reintroduced last season. Two flights a week have been announced, also on Saturdays and Sundays, and there should be an increase in weekly operations at the end of April. As was announced earlier, KLM should work up to twice a day between Dubrovnik and Amsterdam this summer.

Despite the increase in the number of operations to coastal airports last year and this year, KLM plans to continue with two daily flights to Zagreb but using mainly the Embraer fleet, which has a significantly lower capacity compared to Boeing. The Embraer and B737-700 fleets are planned on the lines to Croatia in March and April.

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

March 12, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as a new Ryanair Zagreb-Brindisi line has been announced to replace the recently canceled Lviv-Zagreb line.

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair introduces a new route from Zagreb International Airport in just over two weeks! Namely, Ryanair will introduce a regular route between Zagreb and Brindisi on March 27, the airline's fourth route from Zagreb to Italy, reports Croatian Aviation.

The line will be in operation from the beginning of the summer flight schedule, March 27, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, until the end of October, i.e., October 26, 2022.

A total of 22,320 seats are on sale, and tickets start at 10 euros one way. This is a line that will be in traffic in the afternoon and evening, and an A320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats in the passenger cabin has been announced.

The new line will replace the previously announced Lviv-Zagreb line, which was canceled due to the war in Ukraine.

Ryanair announced the Lviv-Zagreb line in mid-January this year and had plans to operate on it from the very beginning of the summer flight schedule - on March 27. Fights were planned twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday.

The Irish airline closed sales on all routes from Lviv, including the announced route to Zagreb. A total of 22,320 seats were on sale, and Lviv was to be the second city in Ukraine with which Zagreb was to have a direct connection. Ryanair has announced its return to Ukrainian airports as soon as security conditions allow.

In addition to Brindisi, Ryanair from Zagreb operates to Rome Fiumicino, Bergamo, and Naples. Ryanair is also introducing new lines from Zagreb to Bratislava and Corfu this summer. 

“There are some tourist destinations from Zagreb that can be served in the future and that are of interest to us too. We really believe that Zagreb can be attractive all-year-round, not just for families and the diaspora, but for tourists as well, so we want to use all these opportunities in the future," Tadej Notersberg, Director of Operations of Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe, told EX-YU Aviation last week. 

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

March 11, 2022 - Flight reservations to Croatia and Eastern Europe have dropped from February 24 to March 2 due to the war in Ukraine. 

Due to the war in Ukraine, the number of flight bookings within Europe is falling, and the biggest drop in demand is recorded in Eastern Europe, reports Croatian Aviation.

A company that collects and analyzes data on travel, Forward Keys, published data on the movement of demand for flights after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The data compares reservations from February 24 to March 2 with those in the week before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

With Ukraine and Moldova, which closed their airspace, and Russia and Belarus excluded from the list of destinations and marked with a warning of questionable safety, the largest decline in reservations was recorded by countries closest to the conflict. Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia fell by 30 to 50 percent.

Other European countries, with the exception of Belgium, Iceland, and Serbia, saw a drop ranging from 10 to 30 percent. In Belgium, Iceland, and Serbia, the decline was in the single digits.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has halted a recovery in reservations that began in January after the Omicron coronavirus variant peaked in many countries, Forward Keys Vice President Olivier Ponti concluded. Its impact on transatlantic travel and destinations in Western Europe is not as great as Ponti feared. Americans' reservations for travel to Europe fell by 13 percent.

Russia was one of the world's best-performing markets during the pandemic, and the invasion of Ukraine blocked its ties with the world and halved domestic air travel reservations. Russia now has only one European air corridor left over Serbia, and in the week after the invasion, about 60 percent more plane tickets were issued than in January as a whole. In the same period, the final destination of 40 percent of transfers via Serbia was Montenegro, and the rest included Cyprus, France, Switzerland, and Italy.

"The speed with which Serbia turned into a door for travel between Russia and Europe is striking," Ponti concludes.

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

March 10, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as four Ryanair Pula summer flights have been announced, and Brussels Airlines returns to Zadar Airport. 

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will operate on four international routes from Pula Airport this summer. Namely, these are direct flights to destinations in Austria, Belgium, Poland, and the United Kingdom, reports Croatian Aviation.

The first line to London (Stansted Airport) will run from March 27, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. From June 2, the third weekly flight is added, on Tuesdays, with this flight schedule remaining in force until the end of September. Two-weekly flights have been re-announced for October, with the last Ryanair flight to London on October 27. 

B937-800 aircraft with a capacity of 189 seats have been announced to London. A total of 29,862 seats are available between London and Pula on this Ryanair line.

The very next day, March 28, the line for Brussels Charleroi will start operating, with Ryanair announcing three weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, until October 28. B737-800 aircraft have also been announced on this route, with a total of 35,154 seats between Charleroi and Pula.

From June 1, the new Ryanair line between Pula and Vienna will start operating twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, until September 28. A320 aircraft have been announced on this route.

On June 3, the last, fourth line to Pula, from Poznan, Poland, will start operating. Flights have also been announced twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, until September 30. Between Pula, Poznan, and Vienna, the Irish airline is offering a total of 25,200 seats this summer.

On the four announced routes to Pula Airport, Ryanair offers a total of more than 90,000 seats (90,216), and with an average passenger cabin occupancy of 86% (data for February 2022), this airline could bring over 80,000 passengers to Pula this summer.

Belgian airline Brussels Airlines is introducing a scheduled flight between Brussels and Zadar in the upcoming summer flight schedule, reports Croatian Aviation.

The seasonal route between Zadar and Brussels was introduced by the Belgian national airline in the 2018 summer flight schedule, but the line was not in operation during the last two seasons due to the pandemic.

Although it did not announce the line in its initial summer announcement, Brussels Airlines subsequently released tickets for this line, which will start operating on May 7.

The flights will run once a week, every Saturday, and are currently scheduled until the end of the summer flight schedule (October 29). The A319 aircraft with a capacity of 141 seats will operate on the route. 

With the return of Brussels Airlines to Zadar Airport, Zagreb Airport remains the only destination in the country to which this airline has not returned after the lockdown in Europe. Zadar Airport, in addition to the Brussels Airlines line, also has a flight to Charleroi in the summer schedule, operated by Ryanair.

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

March 7, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as ITA Airways flights to Dubrovnik and Split have been announced in the 2022 summer schedule of the new airline. 

New Italian airline ITA Airways has announced regular operations to Dubrovnik and Split airports, reports Croatian Aviation.

Just as was the case with Alitalia, ITA Airways is announcing two routes to Croatia in the upcoming summer flight schedule - from Rome to Split and Dubrovnik. The planned number of operations is almost identical to that of Alitalia, whose business was continued by ITA Airways.

The only difference is the type of aircraft. Namely, in the last summer seasons, Alitalia used mainly aircraft from the Embraer fleet to Croatia, while ITA Airways plans operations with aircraft from the A320 family, type A319 and A320, with a capacity of 144 to 180 seats.

The line between Split and Rome will run once a week, every Thursday through August, while the line to Dubrovnik will also run once a week through August, every Tuesday.

In addition to ITA Airways, other airlines operate on the route between Split, Dubrovnik, and Rome; Croatia Airlines, Spanish Vueling, and Hungarian Wizz Air.

The chances of ITA Airways appearing at other Croatian airports with scheduled flights are slim, especially after Ryanair introduced a scheduled flight between Zagreb and Rome, where Croatia Airlines already operates.

Tickets for these two routes are on sale on the airline's official website and start at 54 euros one way.

Recall, other new flights were announced to both Dubrovnik and Split airports this month. Namely, Flyr will operate between Oslo and Dubrovnik from June 13 , while Volotea has launched a new route between Lille and Split Airport, connecting the two cities from May 8 until October 9 this year.

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

March 5, 2022 - Director of Operations of Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe, Tadej Notersberg, reveals the Ryanair Croatia expansion plans.

EX-YU Aviation News spoke to the Director of Operations of Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe, Tadej Notersberg, about the Ryanair Croatia expansion, which should be expected soon. 

“We can see that demand in Croatia is generally very high. We can also see that the Croatian market has huge potential. There were many routes missing, and the full potential of Croatia wasn’t utilized in the past. The Ryanair Group recognized this potential, and we, as Lauda Europe, are very happy that we can operate these flights for the Ryanair Group. There is also further growth planned for the future. This year we will operate three aircraft from Zagreb and out of Zadar as well. We won’t stop with these six aircraft in Croatia. Currently, we are planning operations with three aircraft from Zagreb this year. However, future growth is planned, and we are quite sure and optimistic that we will be able to increase operations out of Zagreb and out of Croatia in general soon," said Notersberg.

“We were so overwhelmed by the response of our recruitment open day last week that we are very excited to offer another chance to join Lauda Europe’s expanding Croatian bases, where Lauda Europe will operate six A320s this summer. Over the coming years, the Ryanair Group and Lauda Europe will expand opportunities in Croatia that will deliver more traffic, new jobs, and career benefits”, Notersberg said. Namely, in addition to the already held recruitment days in March, there will be a recruitment desk at Zagreb Airport until March 14. Those interested can apply in person and potentially be interviewed on the same day. 

How is the Zagreb Ryanair base going overall? 

“Currently, we are really satisfied with the majority of the markets served out of Zagreb. For example, the UK market performs really well, and Ireland with the Dublin route, despite Croatia Airlines not operating the service in the winter. Then we see German and Swedish markets, Swedish markets … so we are very happy with the current demand. Of course, we are adding some new routes out of Zagreb in the summer, like Bratislava and Corfu. Some tourist destinations in the future are of interest to us too. We really believe that Zagreb can be attractive all-year-round, not just for families and the diaspora, but for tourists as well, so we want to use all these opportunities in the future”.

Ryanair recently halted its Zagreb-Lviv line due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. 

“We see a lot of passengers from Slovenia on our Zagreb flights. Even if you go to Zagreb Airport, either in departures or arrivals, you will see that there are a lot of Slovenians. At the airport’s parking, one will notice many cars with Slovenian car plates. We know, and we are sure we are covering the Slovenian market well from Zagreb Airport”.

You can read more at EX-YU Aviation News.

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

March 3, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Ryanair cancels its Zagreb-Lviv line, and Volotea announces a new line to Split this summer, connecting Lille and Split!

The new Ryanair line between Lviv and Zagreb is no longer on sale. As expected, Ryanair has suspended sales on flights to and from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Ryanair announced the line between Lviv and Zagreb in mid-January this year and has plans to operate on it from the very beginning of the summer flight schedule - on March 27. Fights were planned twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday.

The Irish airline closed sales on all routes from Lviv, including the announced route to Zagreb. A total of 22,320 seats were on sale, and Lviv was to be the second city in Ukraine with which Zagreb was to have a direct connection. 

Ryanair has announced its return to Ukrainian airports as soon as security conditions allow.

Furthermore, Spanish low-cost airline Volotea has announced another new route to Split Airport this summer, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Volotea, which has its bases not only in Spain, but also in France, Greece, and Italy, is introducing another new route to Split Airport this summer, regularly connecting Split and Lille, a city in northern France with more than 220,000 inhabitants.

The first flight on the new line has been announced for May 8, and flights will run every Sunday until October 9 this year.

A319 aircraft with a capacity of 156 passengers have been announced on the route, so Volotea will offer a total of 7,176 seats between the two cities this summer.

This is also the seventh destination of the Spanish airline from France to Split Airport. Tickets for flights from Split to Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse are also on sale.

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

March 2, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 13 Jet2 Split and Dubrovnik flights have been announced in the 2022 summer flight schedule!

Jet2, the third largest airline in the UK, this year announces 13 scheduled flights to two Croatian airports - Split and Dubrovnik, in the summer flight schedule, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Jet2 announces its return to Croatia with 13 international routes to Dubrovnik Airport and Split Airport, with no plans to operate to Pula Airport.

In the peak summer season, this airline will have up to 30 return flights to Croatia, connecting it with numerous destinations in the UK. Dubrovnik and Split are traditional destinations of this airline, along with many other destinations in Greece and Italy.

Split flights

Birmingham, from 01.05., 2 times a week on Wednesdays and Sundays,

Edinburgh, from 15.05., once a week on Sundays,

Leeds, from 30.04., 2 times a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

London, from 01.05., 2 times a week on Thursdays and Sundays,

Manchester, from 30.04., 4 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dubrovnik flights

Belfast, from 30.04., once a week on Saturdays,

Birmingham, from 02.04., 3 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,

East Midlands, from 01.05., once a week on Sundays,

Edinburgh, from 17.04., 2 times a week on Wednesdays and Sundays,

Leeds, from 03.04., 2 times a week on Thursdays and Sundays,

London, from 31.03., 4 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Manchester, from 31.03., 4 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Newcastle, from 01.05., once a week on Sundays.

Dubrovnik is traditionally the most common holiday destination for British tourists, so the number of lines is relatively higher than in Split. However, this is a smaller number of operations compared to the record 2019, but the announced program is significantly stronger than the previous 2021 when Jet2 waited until the peak of the summer season for the easing of restrictive measures in the UK to launch flights to Croatia.

Boeing B737-800 aircraft with a capacity of 189 seats have been announced on the routes to Croatia.

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