April the 28th, 2023 - The popular Irish low budget carrier Ryanair, which has had a base at Zagreb Airport for some time now, bringing cheap flight from the Croatian capital to destinations all over Europe, is asking for the help of Croatian travellers in the face of ongoing, extremely disruptive French air traffic control strikes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, ongoing strikes by employees at multiple European airports have caused great chaos in air traffic over more recent years, and chaos is expected again this summer during the very height of the tourist season, Croatia's most important time of the year in an economic sense.

As the largest European airline warned, in terms of the number of passengers transported during just 2023, for example, the French union of air traffic controllers ATC went on strike for 39 days, as a result of which Ryanair had to cancel 3,500 flights, mostly those flying over France. Ryanair, among other carriers, deems this utterly unacceptable and is urging Croatian travellers to sign its petition to take the matter higher, more precisely to the European Commission (EC), to put pressure on France to keep EU skies open.

Ryanair's petition, which takes only a second or two to sign and is available among its registered users, aims to force the European Commission to finally do something about constant French disruption which causes issues across Europe and protect the airlines, but also the passengers themselves.

''We have launched a petition calling on Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission to protect air passengers, especially those on overflights during French air traffic control strikes, which you can support. By signing it, your email address and name will be submitted to our petition and we will send an urgent message to Ursula von der Leyen to protect passengers during these French air traffic control strikes," they stated from Ryanair.

Croatian travellers can sign the petition by clicking here.

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

April 13, 2023 - The Osijek airport is one of the smaller of nine airports in Croatia. With the eastern part of the country seriously underserved, hopes are that it will increase capacities soon.

As Poslovni writes, passenger interest is increasing in Adriatic airports, which are being renovated and prepared to receive an increasing number of passengers on long-haul flights, such as Pula, which wants to connect with North America, but continental airports are also working to improve their capacities.

Osijek Airport is starting a project to build a passenger terminal. A tender worth EUR 9.29 million without VAT has been published for a "turnkey" package, which includes the creation of design and technical documentation and building permits, as well as the execution of works. According to the tender documentation, the project will reconstruct the existing building with an emphasis on ensuring the conditions that must be met due to entry into the Schengen area, as well as arranging and upgrading the exterior of the building. For the reconstruction, Osijek Airport obtained building permits for the completed project back in 2015, but in the meantime it was abandoned and now it is necessary to adapt the project to new needs, in order to meet the criteria for the entry of passengers into Croatia from countries that are not in the Schengen area.

At the moment, such a connection has been re-established with London, because since June, Ryanair is back with flights to Osijek airport, twice a week, starting from June 2. Of international flights, Osijek airport also has a Croatia Airlines connection to Munich in this year's summer flight schedule.

The existing airport building was built in 1977 and renovated in 2007, and it was extended with permits issued in 2015, but these spaces were never put into operation, which is why the activities are now being restarted. The deadline for submitting offers for this project expires on May 9, and when the most acceptable offer is chosen and the contract is concluded, the estimated deadline for the completion of construction will be 14 months, with the fact that the period of issuing administrative acts for construction will not be counted in the deadline for execution.

Osijek airport is one of the smaller airports of nine in Croatia, and according to the recently published data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, it recorded a strong increase in traffic in the first two months, in January 1163 (a growth of 76%), and in February 993 (+159%), and there are announcements that growth will be more apparent in the summer months, mostly due to the line with London, which will be open by the end of October. In total, more than 15 thousand passengers passed through this airport in 2022, compared to 10.9 thousand a year earlier, and only Mali Lošinj and Brač airports have less traffic than Osijek.

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

March 8, 2023 - Big news for everyone who has been waiting for a convenient way to travel to the Croatian east! The Ryanair Osijek to London line is back after a long hiatus. 

As SiB initially wrote, the aviation analyst Sean M, who regularly publishes news from the world of aviation on his Twitter, published important information for Osijek Airport, that starting from the summer season of 2023, the Irish airline Ryanair will once again fly to London. The flights will be on Fridays and Mondays, which will mean a new international link between Osijek and Europe.

Currently, you can fly from Osijek to Munich, Germany, and this line will certainly bring a lot to everyone who wants to visit London and the surrounding cities. It will potentially attract tourists from these countries to Osijek and the surrounding area as well.

On June 2, Ryanair will introduce a line between Osijek and London (Stansted Airport), thus returning to Klisa after a multi-year break, SiB confirmed.

Flights from Osijek to London shall fly on Mondays and Fridays, and flights are planned in the afternoon and evening.

Flights can already be booked through Ryanair's website.

The current price for the first flight on June 2 from Osijek to London is €30.99, and the return flight on Monday, June 5, will cost €48.99.

If you want to fly to London on Monday, June 5, you will pay €77.99 one way, but again on Friday,, the price from Osijek to London is €30. As for all other Ryanair flights, prices vary by date, and occupancy and change dynamically. The cheapest one-way ticket is €30, and the most expensive one in July was €103.99.

The good thing about Ryanair is that there are often promotional flight prices and various discounts with which you can get a much better price.

You should, however, keep in mind that the price does not include luggage, i.e. you can only take a small cabin bag. If you need more, you will have to pay extra.

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

January 9, 2023 - The famous Irish low-budget flight operator, Ryanair leaves passengers stranded. Several Ryanair passengers missed their flight last week after being locked in a windowless airport corridor. The flight from London's Stansted to Zagreb took off, leaving 23 passengers behind after both sides of the aisle were locked, trapping the passengers inside.

"The children were crying; it became claustrophobic."

As Index / The Evening Standard / Business Insider write, a Ryanair spokesperson commented that there was a "human error," which meant passengers could not "exit the pre-boarding door" and unfortunately missed their flight. Devina Raval, one of the passengers who said she was trapped in the corridor, told MyLondon she felt like she was being "held hostage." Insider could not immediately reach Raval for comment.

People were banging on the walls calling for help, Raval told MyLondon. "Kids were crying, and the whole place became really claustrophobic. It scares me to think what would happen if someone had a heart attack or something."

After about half an hour, one of the passengers set off the fire alarm, alerting a member of staff who asked them what they were doing in the corridor. "At that moment, I was just shocked that they didn't realise we were there. We were told the plane took off without us," added Raval.

Ryanair claims human error

The passengers were sent to a nearby hotel for the night and boarded a flight to Croatia on the following day at 6 a.m.

"Due to human error by staff at London Stansted Airport, a small number of passengers were unable to exit through the pre-boarding gate and unfortunately missed their flight to Zagreb (January 2). The error was caught when the flight had already taken off," a Ryanair spokesperson told Business Insider.

"Ryanair has provided overnight accommodation for the affected passengers and moved them on the next available flights," the airline said in a statement.

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

December 30, 2022 - Good news for all travellers and travel enthusiasts. The Ryanair Croatia offer is expanding, with the company announcing six new routes for the summer of 2023. The Irish company, it seems, has assessed that flights to Croatia are a safe card to play since Ryanair already has four aircraft based in Zagreb, three in Zadar, and regularly operates flights from other airports as well.

As Vecernji writes, the low-cost European transport giant Ryanair has been operating in Europe for many years, including Croatia. The confirmation that business has been going well came in the form of announcements for the next summer season when the Irish airline that offers low prices plans to launch seven more routes in the region, six of them in Croatia.

Airplanes of the Boeing 737 type, with a capacity of about 180 passengers, will be flying in Croatian skies more often from March, that is, June and July. The start of flights from Pula to Germany is expected in March, and Pula to Poland in June. Routes from Zadar to the same countries will start in June, with the addition of a route to Italy. Another connection to Italy will be established in July from Rijeka.

With all Ryanair's announcements added up, the schedule looks like this:

• from March 26: Pula – Düsseldorf (Weeze)
• from June 2: Pula – Katowice, Zadar – Rzeszów
• from June 3: Zadar – Münster
• from June 4: Zadar – Milan
• from July 3: Rijeka – Bergamo

Another route was announced from Montenegro, more precisely from Podgorica to Gdansk, but it is not excluded that a few more routes will be announced in the following days. However, some passengers are justifiably skeptical because of how low-cost companies such as Ryanair, WizzAir, Jet2 and similar operate, that is, they cancel flights at the last minute if they are not satisfied with the occupancy of the aircraft (eng. load factor). The high load factor is one of the reasons why the mentioned companies offer prices much lower than their competition in aviation.

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

June the 4th, 2022 - The Ryanair Croatia anniversary took place recently, which recognised and marked the first anniversary of the opening of this popular Irish airline's routes from the Croatian capital.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the largest European airline currently in operation, and as they themselves point out, the largest airline in all of Croatia, the low-budget Irish Ryanair, has been celebrating the anniversary of the launch of its Zagreb operations.

The company emphasised that, along with a total of 27 routes heading to various European cities from Zagreb Airport, they have good reservations in their largest summer flight schedule for Zadar.

Ryanair's three Zagreb aircraft represent a massive 300 million US dollar investment, which will support more than 90 high-paying aviation jobs and more than 1,000 total jobs in Zagreb itself.

Ryanair's sales and marketing manager for CEE & the Balkans, Olga Pawlonka, said that Ryanair will operate (from Zagreb alone) almost 80 weekly flights throughout the summer of 2022, 30 more than last year, to provide Zagreb's customers with a wide choice of European destinations to head to, such as London, Milan, Paris, or popular destinations for holidays (Brindisi, Corfu and Malaga), giving an extremely welcome boost to Zagreb tourism after two consecutive years more or less entirely lost to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ryanair pointed out that their customers in Zagreb can plan an escape at the lowest prices of a mere 159 kuna (19.99 euros) one way until October 2022.

As Tadej Notersberg, CEO of Lauda Europe, a company that is part of Rynair with its branded fleet of 29 Airbus 320 aircraft, recently pointed out; in addition to Zadar and Zagreb, their aircraft are based in Vienna, London Stantsed and Palma de Mallorca (Spain). The global coronavirus crisis severely disrupted air traffic across all of Europe for two years, but with the lifting of epidemiological restrictions in most countries, they are now finally returning to previous levels.

"We're satisfied with the way business in Croatia has been going so far, and the forecasts speak of further growth. That's why we're increasing the fleet, the number of flights and the amount of routes,'' concluded Nottersberg on this Ryanair Croatia anniversary.

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

June 3, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Ryanair Zagreb flight reductions continue into the middle of next month. 

Several Ryanair Zagreb destinations will see further reductions and temporary route suspensions into mid-July, reports Ex Yu Aviation. 

Passengers already witnessed reductions in May, and while the airline was to conclude the network cutbacks in June, it is now extending the suspension of some of its Zagreb lines into next month - namely to Basel, Sofia, and Brindisi until July 18. 

Ex Yu Aviation adds that Sandefjord, Malaga, and Paphos flights will only run once a week until mid-July and that reductions on the lines to Bergamo, Charleroi, Hahn, Gothenburg, Malmo, Malta, Memmingen, and Weeze will also be extended. Furthermore, the Corfu line will not run until the beginning of July and will operate just one flight a week. This line was supposed to launch in June. 

But this is no surprise. Recall that in January, 16 Ryanair Zagreb flights were temporarily suspended because of reduced demand due to the pandemic. This is now the fifth month this year that Ryanair has either temporarily suspended or reduced its Zagreb flights.

Thus, in June, Ryanair reduced its capacity in Zagreb by 35,000. This time, however, the Irish low-cost airline has not provided an explanation for its decision. Ex Yu Aviation writes that staffing issues and lack of equipment could carry some of the blame. The airline has two aircraft based in Zagreb when there were plans to have three. 

But Zagreb isn't the only city affected. The low-cost airline has delayed many new routes from the Zadar base, too. Namely, the Helsinki, Turin, and Bournemouth routes will be pushed back by another two weeks. These lines had already been delayed until the beginning of June. Ryanair will however bring much-needed traffic to Zadar Airport this summer, operating 120 flights to 46 destinations! 

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

May 27, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 79 Ryanair Croatia routes will run in June!

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has modified its flight schedule for June. Next month, the well-known airline will offer almost 80 scheduled flights to and from six Croatian airports, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Ryanair plans to operate 79 international routes to 6 Croatian airports in June to Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb, with based aircraft and crew in Zagreb and Zadar.

Here's the list of routes at Croatian airports with the number of weekly rotations and the days these lines operate.

From Zagreb to:
Brussels Charleroi, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Paphos, once a week, Wednesdays,

Paris Beauvais, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Dortmund, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Dusseldorf Weeze, twice a week, Thursdays and Saturdays,

Frankfurt Hahn, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Karlsruhe, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Memmingen, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Thessaloniki, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Dublin, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,

Milan Bergamo, four times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,

Naples, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Rome, four times a week, on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Malta, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Podgorica, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Eindhoven, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Oslo Torp, once a week, Wednesdays,

Bratislava, three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays,

Malaga, once a week, on Wednesdays,

Gothenburg, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Malmo, twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays,

London, seven times a week, daily,

Manchester, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays.

A total of 460 flights (incoming and outgoing) with B737-800, B737MAX, and A320 aircraft have been announced for June. More than 82,000 seats in both directions are available on the 23 mentioned lines.

From Pula to:
Brussels Charleroi, three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,

London, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,

Poznan, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Vienna, twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays.

In June, Pula will have 86 Ryanair flights on four international routes, with more than 15,000 seats available on B737-800 and A320 aircraft.

From Rijeka to:
Brussels Charleroi, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Stockholm, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

London, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays.

In June, Rijeka Airport will have a total of 54 flights (incoming and outgoing) on three routes, with more than 10,000 seats on offer.

From Zadar to:
Vienna, four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays,

Brussels Charleroi, four times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,

Sofia, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays,

Threshold, four times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays,

Aarhus, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Helsinki, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Bordeaux, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Marseille, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,

Paris Beauvais, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Berlin, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Bremen, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Cologne, three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,

Dusseldorf Weeze, four times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Frankfurt Hahn, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Hamburg, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Karlsruhe, three times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays,

Memmingen, three times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,

Nuremberg, four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Budapest, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Dublin, twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays,

Bari, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Bologna, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Milan Bergamo, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,

Naples, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Pisa, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Rome, four times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,

Turin, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Eindhoven, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Maastricht, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Gdansk, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Krakow, four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays,

Poznan, four times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Warsaw Modlin, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Wroclaw, three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,

Bucharest, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Gothenburg, twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Stockholm, twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays,

Vaxjo, twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays,

Birmingham, twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Bournemouth, twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Edinburgh, twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays,

Leeds, twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Liverpool, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

London, six times a week, every day except Monday,

Manchester, twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays,

Newcastle, twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays.

Zadar Airport is definitely the number one airport in Croatia for Ryanair. Aircraft will fly to more than 45 destinations and will offer over 160,000 seats in more than 450 rotations. Certain lines were already scheduled to be in operation, but the carrier postponed the start of operations on several lines for commercial reasons until the second half of June.

From Split to:
Dublin, four times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dublin is the only Ryanair destination from Split. 17 rotations are planned for June, with Ryanair offering more than 6,000 seats.

From Dubrovnik to:
Vienna, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Dublin, four times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (34),

On the two mentioned lines, Ryanair will offer almost 10,000 seats to and from Dubrovnik Airport in June.

In June, Ryanair will operate a total of 79 international routes to and from Croatian airports, and according to current data, the number of routes should increase in July. In June alone, the Irish airline will offer more than 285,000 seats to and from Croatian airports, with Zadar Airport and Zagreb International Airport having the largest share in the number of seats (and consequently the line).

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

April 14, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as several Ryanair Zagreb flights have been canceled in May and June, with passengers informed in the last 24 hours. 

In the last 24 hours, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has informed passengers about the cancellation of a number of flights on regular flights to and from Zagreb International Airport, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Namely, Ryanair has canceled several flights on international routes to and from Zagreb Airport for May and June this year.

From Zagreb to:

Brussels Charleroi - two flights a week instead of five in May,

Sofia - all flights canceled in June,

Paphos - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Dusseldorf Weeze - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Frankfurt Hahn - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Karlsruhe - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Memmingen - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Corfu - all flights canceled in May and June,

Dublin - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Brindisi - all flights canceled in May and June,

Milan Bergamo - canceled flights on Sundays in May,

Rome - two flights a week instead of four in May,

Malta - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Gothenburg - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Malmö - two flights a week instead of three in May,

Basel - all flights canceled in May and June,

London - four flights a week instead of seven in May.

On most routes, certain weekly rotations were canceled, and the airline cited commercial terms in the passenger notice. Namely, Ryanair has been selling very cheap tickets on these routes for months, from 5 to 10 euros one way, and now it is canceling those flights and offering passengers the possibility of vouchers or changing travel dates.

Croatian Aviation adds that the same thing happened earlier with the route to Milan. The airline then returned the flights to sale a few days later, but at much higher prices, so it should not be surprising if this is what happens on most of the above routes. Due to the early announcement, passengers are not entitled to compensation in accordance with EU regulations 261, and the airline leaves room for additional earnings by reselling the now canceled flights.

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

April 11, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 26 Ryanair Zagreb flights in May bring more than 120,000 seats to and from the Croatian capital. 

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has defined its flight schedule for May, in which it will offer more than 120,000 available seats to and from Zagreb International Airport, reports Croatian Aviation. 

Namely, Ryanair is celebrating its first anniversary since opening the base in Zagreb, and in May it will operate 26 regular international routes and offer more than 120,000 available seats to and from the Croatian capital. 

From Zagreb to:

London Stansted - 11,160

Milan Bergamo - 8,056

Brussels Charleroi - 7,920

Rome Fiumicino - 6,480

Basel - 5,040

Dublin - 5,040

Bratislava - 4,914

Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden - 4,914

Memmingen - 4,914

Gothenburg - 4,914

Frankfurt Hahn - 4,914

Malta - 4,816

Malmo - 4,680

Dusseldorf Weeze - 4,680

Paphos - 4,680

Brindisi - 3,240

Paris Beauvais - 3,240

Dortmund - 3,240

Eindhoven - 3,240

Manchester - 3,240

Naples - 3,240

Thessaloniki - 3,240

Sofia - 3,240

Podgorica - 3,240

Malaga - 2,880

Oslo Torp - 2,880.

A320 aircraft based at Zagreb Airport with a capacity of 180 seats have been announced on all routes. The only exceptions are the line to Bratislava, where B737-800 aircraft have been announced, and the route to Malta and Begam, where B737 MAX aircraft will also operate.

The largest number of seats is available to London, which is solely due to daily flights between Zagreb and this city, while the smallest number of seats is available to Malaga and Oslo, given that these routes operate twice a week.

Still unofficially, Ryanair and Zagreb Airport are working intensively on basing the fourth aircraft of this carrier in the Croatian capital, which would increase the number of routes but also increase the number of rotations on existing ones. It is likely that this will happen as early as this summer season.

Zagreb International Airport welcomed 196,280 passengers through Croatia's main airport last month, or 152,549 more than in the same month last year. The result from March 2021 (as well as from 2020) is not comparable with the figures from the previous month, primarily because of the pandemic.

Nevertheless, with this good result, Zagreb is approaching the figures from the pre-crisis year of 2019, when 232,978 passengers were recorded in March.

For more, check out our travel section.