February 28, 2022 - The largest Croatian bus carriers, Arriva and Čazmatrans, as well as other carriers included in the Association of Croatian Bus Liner Carriers (UHAJLP), announced that due to the situation in Ukraine and the increased number of refugees from the war zone, they are ready to make their fleet available to the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Civil Headquarters, and the Croatian Civil Cross to provide the highest quality and fastest possible assistance.

The carriers are ready to hand over their buses and drivers to transport refugees from Ukrainian border areas to Croatia.

"The refugee crisis is at the door; we are currently witnessing huge crowds and hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Ukraine in various ways. We want to contribute to human resources and vehicles because it is our responsibility and the only way refugees can be organized and efficiently transferred from the Ukrainian border to designated locations in Croatia. Numerous counties have announced that they already have prepared capacities to accommodate hundreds of victims. We, therefore, call on them to contact us in coordination with the Civil Headquarters so that we can transfer more refugees to the locations they have envisioned. We are also at the disposal of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for everything else that is needed to resolve this crisis," said Dražen Divjak, General Manager of Arriva in Croatia, on behalf of the Association of Croatian public bus companies.

UHAJLP brings together large and small domestic private companies that make up the domestic transportation system with huge capacities, thousands of buses, and over 8000 workers. It is a system of strategic importance for the Republic of Croatia and would have been difficult to survive during the pandemic if the Government had not preserved it with its measures for the last two years. Carriers are also partners with much of the local and regional self-government. They are now ready to give back to the community in which they operate through assistance in resolving at least part of the Ukraine refugee crisis. 

Source: Dalmacija Danas

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February 27, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Aeroflot cancels Zagreb flights, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announces that Croatia bans Russian airlines.

Due to the Russian aggression on Ukraine, Western countries are imposing more and more sanctions on the Russian Federation. Among other things, more and more countries are banning the landing, take-off, and overflight of Russian airlines. The biggest restrictions on air traffic are expected since the end of the Cold War, reports Croatian Aviation.

An increasing number of European countries are banning Russian airline flights through their airspace, which is another blow to the Russian economy through air transport. Russia has reciprocally banned the overflight of aircraft and European countries that have introduced this restriction.

Russia's S7 Airlines has already cut off regular flights from Russia to European countries, explaining the move as a result of the ban on overflights of many European countries, which significantly complicates the planning of operations and increases fuel consumption, given that it is no longer possible to fly the shortest route on almost all routes.

It is also expected that a decision will be made at the European Union level to ban Russian aircraft from flying over the airspace of all EU member states, leaving Russian carriers unable to find an alternative and forced to cancel all operations. Thus, in addition to the disabled passenger transport, Russia will also be unable to transport cargo, which will directly affect the business of the airline and Russian airports.

Many critics reacted and called out the European Union for not withdrawing the move and closing the European skies to Russian carriers, but the fact is that there are certainly a large number of European citizens in Russia who now want to return to their home countries as soon as possible, and the same would be completely disabled by air in the event of an EU closure.

If that happens (and it most likely will), it will be the biggest restriction on air traffic since the end of the Cold War, but the move will not benefit either side.

Most European airlines use Russian airspace when flying from Europe to Asia and vice versa, given that this is the shortest route, but several carriers have already been banned from flying over Russian airspace (or they decided to do it for security reasons), so they fly a long way between Europe and Asia, avoiding Russian airspace.

In addition to all the above, the sanctions go in the direction of banning the export of spare parts for aircraft to Russia, which will further complicate the normal conduct of operations for Russian carriers.

In the coming days we can expect further bans from other European countries, as well as a decision at the EU level, which will, first of all, force Aeroflot, Russia's national airline, to cancel almost all flights to European cities, and consequently flights from St. Petersburg and Moscow to Zagreb. Several flights from Russia to Croatian airports have been announced for the summer, with about 50 weekly flights in the peak season. If the sanctions continue to be in force, Croatian airports will compensate for the lack of passengers from Russia by increasing demand from other markets, given that further recovery in air traffic due to the global pandemic is expected.

Aeroflot closed sales on all flights between Zagreb and Moscow today until March 27, and flights for tomorrow and the day after are currently canceled. It is a logical move after Italy banned the flight of aircraft registered in Russia, so now the closest route to Aeroflot is to Zagreb via Turkey and Greece. The Government is on the move, which is expected to decide on the ban on the entry of aircraft registered in Russia into Croatian airspace, which was confirmed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. 

"The government has already made a political decision today to ban flights for our air traffic to Russian airlines. We will make appropriate decisions at the EU level. We will make a decision on the implementation of restrictive measures that will, given the dynamic situation in Ukraine, address this issue on a daily basis," Plenković said today for Index.hr.

A formal decision is expected on Monday, February 28, so with the entry into force of that decision, Aeroflot will no longer be able to fly to, from, or via Croatia.

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

February 25, 2022 - RTL Danas spoke to former Croatia national team captain and current Shakhtar Donetsk sports director Darijo Srna in Ukraine. 

RTL reporter Leona Šiljeg appeared live on RTL Danas with Darijo Srna on Thursday, the former Croatia national team captain and current Shakhtar Donetsk sports director, where he also wore the captain's armband as a player for years. 

Shakhtar has not played in Donetsk after the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, and since 2020 they have been in Kyiv. 

"It was certainly not pleasant; I was awakened by the sound of a siren around 4:30 in the morning. The situation is not very good, but we gathered with many Croats, we stick together, we are in touch with the embassy, and we are waiting for further instructions," Srna said for RTL Danas.

"We are currently in a hotel, the entire professional staff. Knowing myself, I have always been first in line. There is no chance of me leaving this ship first. This is our second country; we will do our best to be peaceful and not spread panic. I want to thank all the people who send messages and call."

Srna has always emphasized that Ukraine is his second home and says that it is difficult for him to see the current situation in Ukraine, which has been unthinkable for him until today.

"I couldn't imagine that we would find ourselves in this situation. This is the third war in my life. We have to be strong; we have no other choice. Now it's all about Ukraine; the situation is not good," said Srna, commenting on experiencing the Homeland War and the Crimean War, which moved Shakhtar from Donetsk. 

The former national team defender revealed that he is in constant contact with another former Vatreni member, Ognjen Vukojević, the assistant coach of Dinamo Kyiv.

"We hear from each other every 20 minutes, and today we were even thinking of going on our own, but that is a big risk. I repeat, we have no choice but to be calm and not spread panic. We were supposed to start the championship on Saturday; everything was disrupted by what happened last night," the former Croatia captain concluded.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

February 24, 2022 - Dubrovnik tourism experts weigh in on the developing Russia-Ukraine crisis and answer if we should worry about it hurting what is meant to be a stellar 2022 tourist season. 

Slobodna Dalmacija asked Dubrovnik tourism experts if the tense situation between Russia and Ukraine could shake up the upcoming Croatian tourist season, from which we all expect a lot.

"My first impression is that it can and will, but I hope that it will not to a large extent," says Đuro Market, a tourism expert with many years of experience.

"In addition to COVID-19, which is here now and will be here for a long time, we have this situation with Ukraine and Russia. The question is how things will turn out. Certainly, this crisis will shake the wider area, not just Europe. In general, it will affect the results of tourist countries, and since we are still where we are, maybe a little more on us," says Market, who remembers other events that threw Dubrovnik tourism off track.

"When was the standstill? In 1995, the war in Croatia ended, and tourism began immediately. But NATO's bombing in the region in 1999, from March to June, is a stalemate. This significantly slowed down the sudden rise of tourism in Croatia after the war, and in 2000 everything started again.

When the Cypriots went to a part of the country that is still Turkish today, there was turmoil in tourism at the time. Tourism was also affected by diseases, such as smallpox. So it was a health situation, like today's corona, with the smallpox being controlled quite quickly," Market added.

Asked whether Americans and Russians will still travel as tourists despite tensions over Ukraine, he said:

"If there is an escalation, we are all in trouble. And as for travel, they will both travel. If it stops at this, life and tourism will go. But, in any case, the greater torment and pain is the pandemic. 

The other day I spoke to an agent who works in Germany and told me that guests booking the Adriatic, the Croatian coast, ask first about the vaccination rate, indicating what could affect this season's tourist achievements, which will be certainly better than last year. However, they will not be close to 2019."

Successful tourism entrepreneur Goran Hrnić believes that "this situation is quite problematic and critical for us, given that both Ukraine and Russia were our significant markets."

"Maybe not so much in Dubrovnik as in other parts of Croatia, but it also has an impact on the American market because Americans will find it difficult to decide to travel across the ocean to Europe if this is already the case. So if that conflict escalates, I’m not exactly optimistic. The whole of Europe is too close; people will not travel if that is the case. I still believe it won’t happen, but if it does, then I’m not very optimistic. It would certainly affect the season," Hrnić says. 

Can something be done to mitigate the possible consequences?

"I don't have a formula. To do additional promotion and throw money at it, and the result depends on the political situation, not on us? Tourism will be bad in Greece, Spain, and Croatia. One should pray to God that reason prevails," Hrnić answered.

Tourism expert Filip Marinko Žaja, the mayor's tourism adviser, says that the situation with Ukraine is "a bit more serious," and it is difficult to predict whether it will affect our tourist expectations.

"If they don't start fighting each other, it's good; it doesn't matter, it's far away. However, tourism is strange and sensitive. A long time ago, in the 1970s, something happened to the mussels down in Venice - they were poisoned. At that time, tourists didn't even come here because we also had Ston and mussels. God forbid there is war because in that case it will be felt in our country as well," says Žaja and continues:

"Istria and Kvarner will not be hurt, again they have the advantage because they have car guests. It takes them a four-hour drive from Munich to Poreč, and it takes at least 10, 11 hours to reach us."

Last year's tourist season was marked by the launch of direct lines between Dubrovnik and the United States, flying over the ocean eight times a week. In addition, we were connected to Moscow by Aeroflot, which opened a massive market for Russia. Can we expect Russians and Americans this season as well?

"If there is a conflict, it will be difficult for Russians and Americans to travel as tourists. They need to come by plane and cross the ocean. It's back to the same thing - if! And that "if" is trouble," says Žaja.

What kind of season can we expect if the Russia-Ukraine crisis remains calm?

"I hope it will be better; there is no fear of corona. They aren't shouting "put on a mask" in the store. So maybe only Spain, Portugal, and Greece will take a little bit of traffic, which they didn't have last year."

Nino Dubretić from Direct Booker, another experienced connoisseur of tourist opportunities, especially in private accommodation, believes that the tension in Ukraine has no impact on our tourism at this time.

"If the situation changes for the worse, it would be safe. It depends on what kind of escalation there is; if NATO is against Russia, then we all have a problem because practically the whole world is interfering. It is not seen in the numbers, but God forbid it escalates, as it would undoubtedly be noticed. But again, the question is in what number? I don't see that guests would give up traveling if there were some problems up there unless it was World War III," says Dubretić and adds that the pandemic is still our greatest danger.

He mentions that we are objectively entering a better season for everyone, the congress industry is alive, cruisers are returning, and announcements from the airport are optimistic.

"When we look at private accommodation, the numbers show that in the worst case, we will work 80 percent of 2019. I wouldn’t be surprised if we reach or overtake 2019. A lot depends on how you enter the season and how active the pre-season is. If it fails, there could be a lack of those 10, 15 percent of 2019 figures, but June, July through October should be repeated or even jump 2019," Dubretić is optimistic, concluding that "tourism will happen in April, especially bearing in mind the 'last minute' booings, which have been vital in the pandemic era. 

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.