April the 12th, 2023 - Pula Airport has a strong desire to attract more visitors from North America, as more and more people from that part of the world flock to Croatia. This is especially the case for US citizens, who are appearing more and more frequently in Croatia, especially along the coast, for various reasons and not only for tourism.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as stated above, the general level of interest of travellers from the North American continent to the Republic of Croatia, especially to the Adriatic coast, whether it be for tourist or personal and family reasons, has never been in question. The abolition of American visas for Croatian citizens has also only further increased the interest of Croats in making trips the other way across the pond.

Air carriers have also recognised this trend, and it is increasingly likely that in the coming period, this country will be much more connected to North America, meaning by more than the existing two seasonal routes. In addition to the airports in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, in the foreseeable future it will likely be possible to see a connection between North America (including Canada) and Pula Airport.

New York and Toronto

As its chief director Nina Vojnic Zagar confirmed last week, Pula Airport recently ordered a study as it eyes up expansion, that is, moving the threshold of the runway.

"Pula Airport is considering extending its runway in order to be able to operate long-haul flights, with a focus on transatlantic services. This means that we're investigating the possibility of extending the runway to 3,200 metres to accommodate long-haul flights, i.e. flights to the east coast of North America. The current runway is 2954 metres long and lacks another 250 metres for this purpose. We have space both to the east and to the west to extend the runway, but we have to take the slopes into account," said Vojnic Zagar for local portal Glas Istre/The Voice of Istria.

She added that it will certainly not be a project that will be realised this year, but that the first steps have now been taken to make it happen as soon as is realistically possible. According to her, passengers from Pula are already well connected to the North American continent through various other European hubs, including Frankfurt, Munich, London Heathrow and Belgrade.

That said, she admits that current flight schedules are not ideal for transfer passengers as most airlines target point-to-point passengers on flights to Pula Airport. Based on indirect traffic flows to and from North America, Pula Airport records the most passengers to New York, followed by those coming from the Canadian city of Toronto.

Air Transat "operates" between Toronto and Zagreb Airport with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft, after restoring traffic between the two cities last year after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian airline served 21,597 passengers between the two cities during its six months of operations last year. On the other hand, United Airlines connects its New York Newark airport hub with Dubrovnik Airport (Cilipi) using Boeing 767-300 aircraft along that route. Last year, it carried 28,445 passengers on this route between the two cities during its four-month operational period.

Split isn't remotely interesting

Back in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Air Transat planned to start a weekly seasonal summer service between Toronto and Split, but ticket sales were suspended several months before the launch for "commercial reasons". Split Airport previously announced that it was simply not interested in accommodating or dealing with long-haul flights.

The reason for this is, of course, that these long-haul flights with wide-body aircraft would mostly be performed on weekends, most often on Saturdays, when Split is the most crowded. As intercontinental wide-bodied aircraft take up much more space and need a larger maneuvering area, the operations of smaller aircraft that form the air traffic base in Split would suffer because of them, and it is precisely on them that Split Airport relies.

Before the coronavirus crisis, there were announcements circulating around about connecting Zadar with several Chinese destinations, but after the end of the pandemic, there is no more speculation about such an idea, at least for now.

For more, check out our dedicated news and travel sections.

August 14, 2022 - More fires in Istria, including one causing problems near Pula Airport. Live updates from Index.hr. 

Today around 12 o'clock, a fire broke out in the area between Pula Airport and Muntić.

HAK (Croatian Roads Association) reports that the road from the Airport to Valtura is closed to traffic.

An hour ago
Firefighters issued a statement about the fires:

"20 firefighters with 9 fire engines of the Pula Fire Brigade, and all voluntary fire brigades from Pula were engaged in the intervention to extinguish the fire in the open area between Pula Airport and the village of Muntić, which was reported at 12:00 p.m. Two Air Tractors AT- Fire Boss have joined the action. The current burned area is about 20 hectares.

The fire near the village of Štokovci is being extinguished by 27 firefighters with 13 fire trucks from the Pula Fire Department, the Rovinj Fire Department, the Pazin Fire Department, the Buzet Fire Department and volunteer firefighting companies from the area of ​​Pula and Rovinj. 3 Canadair CL 415 planes have also been called in to help. The burned area has not yet been estimated.

The fire near Peroj was localized at 2:45 p.m. There are 12 firefighters on the ground with 5 fire trucks from the Pula Fire Brigade and volunteer fire companies from Fažana, Vodnjan, Peroj and Medulin. Currently, extinguishment is being carried out, and the burned area is about 2 hectares."

3 hours ago
"There are no casualties, the houses are not threatened"
"The fire in Peroj is under control, it will be fine. The one in Muntić is now in a more favorable condition, and with the help of the Canadairs, it will be controlled. There is another fire in Bijažići and Bibići. Almost all the forces of the Pula fire district are on the ground.

Five teams from Rovinj, one from Pazin and one from Buzet came to help. Two Canadairs have also arrived, and a third will probably arrive, but it is not certain yet. There are no victims, the houses are not threatened, the electricity is cut off in some parts, and the road between Savičenta and Juršić is closed," said Kozlevac, Glas Istre reports.

4 hours ago
"Firefighting is made difficult by a strong bura wind"
"Extinguishing three fires in open spaces in the County of Istria is in progress.

One open space fire is near the village of Muntići, towards Valtura, another near the village of Juršići towards Svetvinčenat and the third near Peroj. The fire engulfed the area of grass and white gorse," reported the Croatian Fire Association.

"Extinguishing the fire is made difficult by a strong storm. About 80 firefighters with about 30 fire trucks are participating in the extinguishing intervention, and two Canadians are also coming to help," said county fire chief Dino Kozlevac.

Forces from the Fire Department of Pula, the Public Fire Department of the City of Pula and all voluntary fire brigades, three teams from the Fire Department of Rovinj and one team each from the fire departments of Pazin and Buzet were engaged in extinguishing the fire.

You can follow live updates from Index.hr (Google Translate is your friend) here.

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.

May 18, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 14 easyJet Zadar and Pula flights will operate this summer. 

British low-cost carrier easyJet will operate to five Croatian airports this summer. While it has already announced several routes to Pula, the carrier will soon increase the number of operations and resume flights to Zadar Airport, reports Croatian Aviation.

This summer, easyJet will operate 5 international routes to Zadar Airport and 9 routes to Pula Airport. 

Namely, easyJet will operate on 9 international routes to Pula Airport this summer from:

Berlin (already in traffic), three to four times a week,

Bristol (already in circulation), twice a week,

London (already in traffic), three to seven times a week,

Amsterdam, from 29.06., twice a week,

Basel, from 28.06., three times a week,

Geneva, from 29.06., twice a week,

Glasgow, from 27.06., twice a week,

Luton, from 04.06., twice a week, and

Paris, from 27.06., three times a week.

From mid-May to the end of the summer flight schedule, easyJet will offer more than 125,000 seats to and from Pula Airport on the 9 listed routes.

easyJet is announcing fewer flights to Zadar Airport, or a total of 5 international routes, all of which will start operating at the end of June. easyJet will thus operate from Zadar to:

Amsterdam, from 28.06., twice a week,

Basel, from 27.06, three to four times a week,

Berlin, from 28.06., twice a week,

London, from 28.06., twice a week, and

Milan, from 28.06., four times a week.

Due to the smaller number of routes and weekly rotations, easyJet will offer almost 50,000 seats to and from Zadar Airport this summer, but passengers to and from Zadar are not a problem given that Ryanair has a large base at this airport. For the airport itself, it would certainly be better if the number of routes was diversified across multiple airlines.

In the peak summer season, easyJet will have several lines to Split and Dubrovnik, while only two lines have been announced to Rijeka.

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

May the 14th, 2022 - Pula Airport is set to be connected with an impressive thirty different European destinations this year, which is excellent news not only for Istrian tourism but for the height of the main summer season across Croatia as a whole.

As Morski writes, in addition to scheduled and charter flights to Pula Airport, some very well-known low-cost airlines are flying this season: easyJet, Ryanair, then the German low-cost airline Eurowings, the Czech Smartwings, the Swiss Edelweiss Air, Norway's Air Shuttle and the Dutch low-cost airline Transavia Holland.

Pula Airport plans a traffic of about 400 thousand passengers this year, which is one hundred thousand passengers more than last year or almost five times more passengers than the initial pandemic year of 2020, when only 83 thousand passengers were recorded passing through the airport.

When it comes to the record-breaking, pre-pandemic year of 2019, Pula Airport had a traffic of almost 778 thousand passengers, which is a good example to look at when comparing the expectations when it comes to passengers this year.

According to the director of the Pula Airport, Nina Vojnic Zagar, these are the current plans for the announced flights, which are subject to change because the situation in the area is unstable owing to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

''During the month of May, we expect an increase in the activity of air companies, with more intensive operations (an increase in terms of frequencies) and the remaining flights of low-budget companies starting at the end of June. Last weekend (Saturday, April the 30th and Sunday, May the 1st), there was a turnover of 825 passengers and 23 rotations of regular and general aviation,'' said Vojnic Zagar for local portal Istra24.

Owing to sanctions, Pula Airport has been left without the impact of the Russian market

When asked how much air traffic will suffer due to the war in Ukraine following Russian invasion, especially given the fact that Pula Airport was connected to Russia by planes that landed there every weekend, Zagar said that last year there were 50,834 passengers from Russia and 21,670 passengers from Ukraine, which accounts for about 27 percent of the airport's total turnover.

Last season, Pula Airport had the largest number of airlines to and from Russia, and from this market there were as many as 12 weekly flights offered by five different airlines.

''Before the invasion of Ukraine, the expected number of passengers from the Russian and Ukrainian markets in 2022 was about 92,000 passengers,'' said Vojnic Zagar. It is obvious that this year we will be left without these emitting markets.

This year, Pula will be connected with 13 different European countries and about 30 cities by air, regular and charter lines.

For example, Great Britain with London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Doncaster, the German cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne and, in France, Paris.

The planes will also fly to Poznan, Poland, Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Vienna in Austria, and there are as many as four Swiss cities included as well: Zurich, Geneva, Basel and St. Gallen. As for the north of Europe, Pula will be connected with Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg and the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

April 25, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as SAS Split flights officially launched over the weekend, with their return to Dubrovnik and Pula scheduled from June. 

On Saturday, SAS Scandinavian Airlines started regular seasonal operations between Split and Copenhagen, and at the beginning of May, it will resume traffic on the routes from Stockholm and Gothenburg to Split. Lines to Dubrovnik and Pula have been announced from June, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Namely, the well-known Scandinavian airline began regular operations between Copenhagen and Split on Saturday, which currently runs once a week. However, the number of rotations will increase to two in early May.

From May 7, there will be regular lines from Stockholm and Gothenburg, and from May 21 from Oslo to Split. The number of rotations will increase significantly in June and July, i.e., during the peak summer season.

SAS will operate to Dubrovnik on three lines - from Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm. However, the start of traffic on these lines is expected from the end of June.

The same is true for Pula Airport, according to which four lines have been announced. In addition to the mentioned lines to Dubrovnik, Pula should be connected with Gothenburg, also from the end of June this year.

SAS will use different types of aircraft on the 11 mentioned routes to three Croatian airports, from the smallest, CRJ900, to aircraft type A321, with a capacity of up to 200 seats.

Recall, TUI recently announced it is planning 15 international seasonal routes to these three Croatian airports, too. 

Lines to Dubrovnik:
Birmingham, from 05.05. to 30.10., from one to two flights a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Bristol, from 12.05. to 30.10., from one to two flights a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Cardiff, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

Doncaster, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

Glasgow, from 05.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

London, from 05.05. to 30.10., twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Manchester, from 05.05. to 30.10., twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Newcastle, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

East Midlands, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays.

Lines to Pula:
Manchester, from 10.05. to 08.10., twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

London, from 10.05. to 04.10. twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Birmingham, from 11.05. to 08.10. twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Doncaster, from 14.05. to 08.10. once a week, on Saturdays.

Lines to Split:
London, from 09.05. to 14.10. twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Manchester, from 09.05. to 14.10., from one to two flights a week, Monday and Friday.

Various types of aircraft have been announced on routes to Croatia, from B737 and A320 to wide-body B767 and B787. In total, in the peak summer season, TUI will have up to 24 weekly flights from the UK market alone.

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

April 23, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 15 TUI Croatia summer flights will run this year to Dubrovnik, Split, and Pula. 

Well-known British tour operator TUI has announced 15 regular flights to three Croatian airports - Dubrovnik, Split, and Pula. All traffic lines, according to currently available data, should start in May, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Namely, TUI is planning 15 international seasonal routes to the three mentioned Croatian airports, with the largest number of operations announced to Dubrovnik Airport, which is not surprising considering that Dubrovnik will be the hub of this tour operator's cruiser this summer season. 

Lines to Dubrovnik:
Birmingham, from 05.05. to 30.10., from one to two flights a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Bristol, from 12.05. to 30.10., from one to two flights a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Cardiff, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

Doncaster, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

Glasgow, from 05.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

London, from 05.05. to 30.10., twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Manchester, from 05.05. to 30.10., twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Newcastle, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays,

East Midlands, from 12.05. to 27.10., once a week, on Thursdays.

Lines to Pula:
Manchester, from 10.05. to 08.10., twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

London, from 10.05. to 04.10. twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Birmingham, from 11.05. to 08.10. twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Doncaster, from 14.05. to 08.10. once a week, on Saturdays.

Lines to Split:
London, from 09.05. to 14.10. twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Manchester, from 09.05. to 14.10., from one to two flights a week, Monday and Friday.

Various types of aircraft have been announced on routes to Croatia, from B737 and A320 to wide-body B767 and B787. In total, in the peak summer season, TUI will have up to 24 weekly flights from the UK market alone.

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

April 15, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as the Transavia Rotterdam-Pula line will begin operating on April 21! 

Good news from Croatian Aviation this morning - Pula Airport will soon be connected again by a regular Transavia route with Rotterdam!

Pula Airport is preparing for a summer season in which a significant recovery in passenger traffic is expected compared to 2020 and 2021. Certain routes are already in operation, like the earlier announced Lufthansa, Croatia Airlines, Trade Air, and Ryanair, and now Transavia will soon return to Pula, too.

This well-known low-cost airline is planning the first flight of this summer season between Rotterdam and Pula on Thursday, April 21. Flights have been announced three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday with B737-700 and B737-800 aircraft. In the peak of the summer season, 5 weekly flights are planned on this route, every day except Wednesdays and Fridays.

The number of operations in September and October will be gradually reduced, and at the end of the summer flight schedule (the very end of October), the line will stop operating. 

This is the only line by this airline to Pula Airport, which this year will have to compensate a significant number of passengers due to a lack of Russian and Ukrainian guests who in previous years came to Istria and Croatia in large numbers via this airport.

Recall, easyJet announced earlier this week that there would be changes on several of its routes to Croatian coastal airports, Pula included. 

Namely, the line between London (Gatwick) and Pula will run daily from the end of June instead of 6 times a week, while capacity is reduced on the Glasgow - Pula line. The smaller capacity A319 will run once a week instead of the A320. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, 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 9, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 19 easyJet summer lines to Pula, Split, and Dubrovnik begin at the end of the month! 

At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, British airline easyJet is introducing regular flights to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik airports. In the last week of March, easyJet will operate 44 return flights to three Croatian airports, reports Croatian Aviation.

easyJet will be a regular guest at the airports in Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik this summer. 

Pula lines
easyJet is announcing a total of 9 scheduled flights to Pula Airport this summer, from London, Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Luton and Paris. All lines, except those to and from London, will start operating in May and June.

As of March 28, a regular line between Pula and London (Gatwick Airport) will be introduced, which will run 3 times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. 624 seats are available on this line for the first two rotations.

Rijeka and Zadar lines
Rijeka Airport will have two easyJet lines this summer, to London and Berlin, but they will start operating in May and June, respectively.

A total of 5 lines have been announced for Zadar, to Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, London and Milan, but like Rijeka, some lines will start operating in May and some in June.

Split lines
For this summer season, 14 regular lines to Split Airport have been announced, and ten lines will start operating this month:

Amsterdam, from 28.03., five times a week,

Basel, from 27.03., daily,

Berlin, from 27.03., four times a week,

Bristol, from 27.03. four times a week,

Geneva, from 27.03., four times a week,

Glasgow, from 27.03., twice a week,

London, from 27.03., six times a week,

Manchester, from 29.03., three times a week,

Naples, from 28.03., four times a week,

Paris, from 29.03., twice a week.

In March alone, easyJet will operate a total of 29 return flights to Split Airport, and thus offer 4,524 seats in the last week of this month alone.

Lines to Luton, Lyon, Milan and Orly will start in May and June, and the number of weekly rotations on all lines will increase from week to week.

Dubrovnik lines
Dubrovnik Airport is a long-term easyJet destination in Croatia, and 8 international routes will depart from Dubrovnik in March for:

Amsterdam, from 27.03., twice a week,

Berlin, from 30.03., twice a week,

Bristol, from 27.03., three times a week,

Edinburgh, from 29.03., twice a week,

Geneva, from 29.03., twice a week,

London, from 27.03., five times a week,

Manchester, from 30.03., twice a week,

Naples, from March 29, three times a week.

easyJet will run 13 return flights to Dubrovnik in the last 5 days of March, with 2,028 seats on sale. Lines to Lyon, Nantes, Orly and Basel will start in May and June.

44 easyJet return flights from March 27 to 31 are a hint of a good summer season in which this well-known low-cost airline will significantly increase its market share compared to the previous two seasons. 

In the peak summer season, easyJet will operate on 42 scheduled international routes from five Croatian airports, but a detailed analysis of the schedule for May, June and July will be known in the weeks ahead, given that operational changes are certainly possible.

Airlines from the A320 family, type A319, A320 and A321NEO, which have a capacity of 156 to 235 seats at easyJet, have been announced on the routes.

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