November 23, 2021 - The latest news on flights to Croatia as 4 easyJet summer lines to Dubrovnik and Split have been canceled for the 2022 season. 

The British low-cost airline easyJet has canceled some seasonal routes to Croatia, despite announcing that the airline will significantly increase its capacity to Croatian airports next summer. This is due to financial troubles, which began before the pandemic, reports Croatian Aviation.

As the Ex Yu Aviation announced earlier, easyJet withdrew three lines to Dubrovnik and one to Split. The airline claims that the lines with the least passenger interest were withdrawn from sale.

Namely, lines between Luton, Milan, Toulouse, and Dubrovnik are no longer on sale, and the line between Belfast and Split has been canceled. In addition, the airline has not launched several other lines to Croatia this summer season, justifying the move by low demand due to the pandemic.

easyJet currently offers 40 international routes to Croatia next summer, but there will be operational changes at the beginning of the summer season. The Croatian Tourist Board points out that the airline showed great interest in Croatia at the World Travel Market in London, and even announced negotiations with Rijeka and Osijek on establishing regular routes to the two mentioned airports.

For now, the largest number of easyJet lines is offered to Split (14), Dubrovnik (12), Pula (9), and Zadar (5).

The airline also points out that they will announce new routes to Croatia in the coming months, emphasizing the importance of Croatia as a traditional destination of this airline. Negotiations on introducing new lines for next summer are underway. It should be noted that easyJet is one of the largest users of joint advertising, for which the Croatian Tourist Board is announcing a tender.

Croatian Aviation adds that easyJet is slowly but surely losing its share of transported passengers on the Croatian market, primarily due to the new lines of Ryanair and Wizz Air, which also have yet to announce summer programs for next year.

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

November 13, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Ryanair Zadar summer flights and Blue Air flights from Bucharest to Dubrovnik and Split have been announced.

As the summer flight schedule is slowly being announced, more routes to Croatia have gone on sale, including to Zadar Airport, reports Croatian Aviation. 

New Ryanair summer flights include:

Zadar - Nuremberg - Zadar, from March 29, 2022, twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday until the end of October,

Zadar - Stockholm Arlanda - Zadar, from March 27, 2022, twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday, until the end of October,

Zadar - Turin - Zadar, from March 28, 2022, twice a week, every Monday and Friday, also until the end of October.

These new lines will offer almost 70 thousand seats from the end of March to the end of October next year. 

Nuremberg will also be Ryanair's ninth destination in Germany from Zadar (along with Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Dusseldorf Weeze, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, and Memmingen), and Stockholm will be the third in Sweden (existing lines to Vaxjo and Gothenburg).

Currently, 39 international Ryanair routes are on sale to and from Zadar Airport. 

In addition to the lines to Zadar, Ryanair operates on year-round lines to Zagreb, and next summer, it will be present in Pula, Rijeka, Split, and Dubrovnik. 

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that Romania's low-cost airline, Blue Air, announced two scheduled flights to Croatia in the 2022 summer flight schedule.

Namely, Blue Air has announced seasonal routes to Split and Dubrovnik.

The Romanian low-cost airline operated mainly on charter routes to Croatia in the summer flight schedule this year, specifically to Dubrovnik, with ad-hoc arrivals to other Croatian airports. The airline is now announcing regular operations to Dubrovnik and Split from the Romanian capital.

Bucharest - Split - Bucharest will run from June 23 to September 29, 2022, twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday,

Bucharest - Dubrovnik - Bucharest will operate from June 28 to September 27, 2022, every Tuesday and Saturday, also twice a week.

The airline plans to operate on ad-hoc charter flights to Croatia next summer, mainly for Romanian tour operators selling holiday packages in Istria and the central Adriatic. Blue Air will thus operate on charter flights to Pula and Zadar airports.

When asked about introducing a regular line to Zagreb, Blue Air points out that they are considering several destinations, including the Croatian capital. 

Until the beginning of the global pandemic, Croatia Airlines operated three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) between Zagreb and Bucharest in the summer flight schedule. The line was introduced in May 2017 and was in operation every summer until 2020. It is unknown whether Croatia Airlines will resume operations between Bucharest and Zagreb in the summer of 2022.

In addition to two new lines from Split and Dubrovnik, Zadar will also have a regular connection to the Romanian capital. Ryanair will continue to operate between Zadar and Bucharest next summer, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from March 30 to October 29, 2022.

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

November 11, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia with the announcement of Finnair Helsinki-Zagreb flights and new Condor flights to Rijeka and Dubrovnik. 

Finnish national airline Finnair (Oneworld alliance member) announced its 2022 summer schedule, and Zagreb is on the list of new destinations, reports Croatian Aviation.

Finnair will operate regularly between Helsinki and Zagreb next summer, and the Helsinki - Zagreb - Helsinki line will be introduced on May 1, 2022. Flights will run three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. A319 aircraft with a capacity of 144 seats have been announced on the route, meaning Finnair will offer more than 22,000 seats on the Helsinki-Zagreb route from May to October next year. 

Before the pandemic, Croatia Airlines operated in the summer between Helsinki and Zagreb, but the line was not in operation in 2021 and 2020 due to reduced demand.

Finnair has operated to Dubrovnik and Split in the summer flight schedule for many years, and earlier this airline had Pula on its destination map. Finnair's arrival in the Croatian capital is great news for all those who normally travel between the two cities, as well as for those who will continue their journey to destinations in Asia with this airline.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that German leisure airline Condor announced two new routes to Croatia.

Condor Airlines announced a series of new routes from Düsseldorf, which is the focus this winter. For now, several new routes have been announced for next year's summer flight schedule, including two to Croatian airports.

Condor plans to operate to three Croatian airports next summer. Split is already a traditional destination and will have three routes next year - from Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Munich.

Condor will introduce two new routes - between Düsseldorf and Rijeka, twice a week, and one flight a week between Düsseldorf and Dubrovnik. 

Croatian Aviation adds that A320 aircraft will operate to Rijeka and Dubrovnik, while Condor will use A320, A321, and B757 aircraft to Split, just like in the 2021 summer season.

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

October 20, 2021 - With the success of Delta and United Airlines in Dubrovnik, are flights between North America and Split Airport next?

In the first ten days of October, 80,000 passengers traveled through Split Airport, almost as before the pandemic. This year it holds the title of the busiest airport in Croatia, but with the winter flight schedule, only eight direct flights will survive. So for now, there are no announcements or direct flights from North America, although this is an excellent wish of tourist workers, but also Croats after the recent announcement of visa-free travel. 

After a successful first season, United Airlines announced flights between New York and Dubrovnik on May 1, 2022. As a result, the American market has become Croatia's strongest non-European market. They reached 55 percent of overnight stays from the time before the pandemic, statistics say.

"For us in Split-Dalmatia County, it is very interesting, and I can say more, given the completion of the Peljesac Bridge, I believe that it will be easier and more accessible for all American tourists to come to other destinations that are not only related to Dubrovnik," Jože Tomaš, President of the Split County Chamber, points out for HRT.

The announcement that Croatians could travel to the US without visas and the desire for more American guests in Split, Hvar, Trogir has again updated the story of direct flights to Split Resnik, this year's busiest Croatian airport.

"I think it is simply time for both the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism to start working on it. Unfortunately, we do not have enough capacity on our own, but we are ready to help and participate in extending the season," said the mayor of Trogir Ante Bilić.

They also want a possible connection with the other side of the Atlantic at the Airport. If there were no pandemic, Split would already be connected to Canada.

"We expect that these facilitations that have occurred around abolishing the visa regime will contribute to the fact that we are next in line to establish such a flight," said the assistant director of Split Airport Pero Bilas.

The Split runway is 600 meters shorter than the Dubrovnik runway, but that is not a problem, said Resnik Airport.

As with other airlines, the problem is the destination itself, which with its facilities generates a desire for flights, and in central Dalmatia, when there is no sun and sea, it isn't easy.

That is why this winter will be just as slow as the previous ones, except during the Christmas holidays. Croats can travel to the United States visa-free, for example, via Venice, which offers very tempting direct flights.

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

October 10, 2021 - Offseason flights to Split Airport are running by KLM until the end of October, though the Dutch airline has also announced winter flights around the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

Dutch national airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will soon conclude its summer flight schedule and suspend traffic Split and Dubrovnik airports. 

Since the beginning of the summer flight schedule, KLM has operated flights between Split and Amsterdam, running up to three times a day on this route during the peak season. 

KLM also has several weekly rotations between Amsterdam and Split in October, with two flights a day still available with B737-800 and B737-700 aircraft. However, from October 30, KLM will conclude operations to Split Airport in this year's summer flight schedule and pick up again this winter.

Namely, KLM will not wait until next summer to service Split. Like last winter, the Dutch airline will briefly establish a line between Amsterdam and Split, at a time of greatest demand - around Christmas and New Year.

Eight return flights have been announced between December 23, 2021, and January 2, 2022, one flight more than last winter season. Last year, KLM operated on this line in the same period, using smaller capacity aircraft, type E190, while this winter, aircraft type B737-800 will be used.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays, KLM will offer a total of 2,880 seats between Amsterdam and Split, making it an excellent option for tourists to travel to Split during the holidays, as well as for those who want to travel from Split for holidays abroad.

Flights have been announced on December 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, and 31, and January 1 and 2.

KLM has only resumed traffic to Dubrovnik Airport this summer, so, as expected, there are no announced flights between Amsterdam and Dubrovnik in the upcoming winter flight schedule.

KLM continues to operate twice a day to Zagreb, which is the airline's only year-round route. However, after eight return flights to Split in December and January, this carrier will not return to Split until the end of April next year.

Source: Croatian Aviation

For more information about flights to Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.

To learn more about Osijek Airport, click here. 

October 5, 2021 - Croatia's busiest airport will not be in the capital city this year, as Split Airport is set to transport the most travelers in 2021.

In September 2021, Split Airport accepted and dispatched more than 328 thousand passengers, which is 253 thousand more passengers than last year, and only 141 thousand fewer passengers compared to the record-breaking September 2019!

A few months ago, it was clear that Split will be the champion in the number of passengers transported in the Republic of Croatia this year, and this was confirmed on Monday by the publication of Zagreb airport statistics, which, despite the introduction of 15 Ryanair routes, remained below 200,000 passengers.

From January to the end of September, Split accepted and dispatched 1,363,413 passengers, which Zagreb is unlikely to achieve in the whole of 2021. However, given the number of weekly operations and available lines, a significant number of passengers in Split is expected in October.

Split Airport will deservedly take the title of the busiest Croatian airport at the end of the year after Zagreb Airport carried it for years.

By the end of 2021, Split will probably accept and dispatch more than 1.5 million passengers, which is less than in 2019, when there were 3.3 million, but there is no doubt that Split is on the right path to recovery and that will cross 2 million passengers again next year.

In other news, Dubrovnik Airport had more than 200,000 passengers in September this year. 

Namely, 207,558 passengers passed through Dubrovnik Airport in September, as many as 166,000 more passengers compared to the same month in 2021. On the other hand, compared to September 2019, there were 50% fewer passengers (405,924 at the time). The largest share in traffic is made up of passengers from traditionally dominant markets - Great Britain, the United States of America, and France.

From January 1 to September 30, a total of 787,590 passengers traveled through Dubrovnik Airport, while in the same period last year, there were only 306,949. 

Given that Dubrovnik will be well connected to several European destinations in October, a significant increase in the number of monthly passengers is expected to continue. Dubrovnik Airport will thus reach one million passengers by the end of this year. 

Source: Croatian Aviation

For more information about flights to Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.

To learn more about Osijek Airport, click here. 

September 14, 2021 - A Croatia Airlines Slovenia and Macedonia expansion is on the horizon as the national carrier looks to launch flights in both countries. 

Ex Yu Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines is looking to expand in the region, specifically to destinations in Slovenia and Macedonia. 

Namely, Croatia Airlines CEO Jasmin Bajić is looking to improve the connection between Zagreb and Ljubljana, with the potential for Skopje - Ljubljana - Zagreb flights as over 40,000 passengers flew between Macedonia’s and Slovenia’s largest cities before Adria Airways went bankrupt in September 2019.

Croatia Airlines and the Slovenian government spoke about launching operations from Ljubljana last year.

“Croatia Airlines is potentially interested in establishing flights from Ljubljana Airport to enable passengers from Slovenia to connect to European destinations,” the carrier had said.

"We have had some gain on the Slovenian market since Adria Airways’ bankruptcy where we offered certain solutions to react to the demand that was there. However, we had not added any flights to Slovenia because our hubs are nearby and we were more focused on our sales and marketing activities in Ljubljana at the time, which helped us significantly increase our market share in Slovenia," Croatia Airlines’ Head of Commercial Division, Slaven Žabo, said last year. 

Ljubljana Airport’s operator has also previously expressed interest in Croatia Airlines connecting Ljubljana with Vienna, Skopje, Prague, and Copenhagen. 

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation reported that the national carrier could launch to the Macedonian market after TAV Macedonia, the Macedonian Chamber for Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, and the Croatian National Tourist Board spoke last week.

“If there is interest from Macedonian tour operators and partners, we are ready to expand our cooperation onto routes other than Zagreb and Skopje, like perhaps Ohrid and Split," said Jasmin Bajić. Talks initially happened between the two countries already months ago. 

“Road connectivity is not satisfactory, which is why new airline routes would be a big step forward. For example, I believe flights between Ohrid and Split would be of interest to tourists, so they could visit both countries within a few days in one go," said TAV Macedonia’s Marketing and Revenue Manager and Macedonian Chamber of Tourism President, Vladimir Gramatikov. Over 3,000 passengers flew indirectly between Skopje and Split in 2019. Croatia Airlines also handled 74,590 passengers between Zagreb and Skopje in 2019 on 996 flights.

Croatia Airlines also plans to add between 12 to 15 aircraft to its fleet based on its post-Covid strategy. 

Follow the latest flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

September the 12th, 2021 - A potentially tragic incident was only just narrowly avoided at the very busy Split Airport last week, which was only found out about on Friday, a week or so later.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Split Airport is usually busy with people coming and going from all over Europe throughout the warm summer months, with regular traffic continuing but on a smaller scale during the off season, with little to no incidents of concern to speak of. That changed last week when a horrible accident was only very narrowly avoided, and which only became known on Friday.

Namely, last Saturday, just a few days ago, at 12:35, a serious accident occurred on an Airbus 320 NEO aircraft, operated by SAS, which was completing a regular flight from Bergen to Split Airport.

During the craft's routine landing at Resnik, the aircraft touched the runway with the rear lower part of the fuselage, and the plane unfortunately ended up becoming quite damaged in the process, the Agency for Investigation of Accidents in Air, Maritime and Railway Traffic announced, which was informed about the event by the aircraft operator. 

The initial news of this incident which could have been much, much worse than it was was first published by Portal grada Kastela, according to a report on the topic by Slobodna Dalmacija.

An investigation into precisely what occurred with the aircraft and its management on Split Airport's otherwise busy and problem-free runway is ongoing, and once completed, the final results will be published on the aforementioned Agency's website.

As is currently unofficially known, if the plane's inclination was only a few degrees higher at the time of the mishap, a much larger scale catastrophe could have occurred, endangering human life quite seriously.

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

August 28, 2021 - While the summer weather has disappeared, albeit temporarily, it has not affected the passengers at Split Airport and Ferry Port this weekend, with an expected 120,000 due to travel through! 

Although the weather conditions in recent days have hinted that summer is coming to an end, the figures from Split ports say otherwise, because 120,000 passengers in 190 planes and 16,000 vehicles will pass through them this weekend, reports T.portal.

The head of the Reception and Dispatch Service at Split Airport, Mate Melvan, confirmed there will be a pretty good weekend ahead with 190 planes and 40,000 passengers, although slightly more of them departing than arriving. 

"There is more pressure on departures than arrivals, but it is natural for this time of year. We can also confirm that the numbers are still high, the traffic is high intensity. We have already exceeded the figure of 400 thousand in August, which means we are heading towards one million this year. We will have the final results at the end of the month," Melvan added.

80,000 passengers and 16,000 vehicles will pass through the Split Ferry Port over the weekend. There, too, the departure of passengers to Split is more pronounced than earlier this season, which means that they are leaving the island for the mainland, reveals Jelena Ivulić from Jadrolinija.

"Due to the crowds in Supetar, we have had an extra line that sailed at 8:45 am from Split. Therefore, we do not have much pressure from Split, and although passengers still arrive, the truth is at a slower pace. Certainly, the season is not over yet since passengers are still coming," Ivulić said.

It is also interesting to note that by August 15, Jadrolinija had a total of 5.3 million passengers and 1.7 million vehicles on the entire coast, which is 85 percent of the turnover from the pre-pandemic 2019.

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

August 24, 2021 - One Split taxi charges 900 kuna from the Radisson Blu Hotel to the Split Airport. The shocked passenger filmed the incident, which has now circulated around Croatian media. 

Taxi drivers working in the Kaštela and Split airport area were appalled by the actions of an illegal taxi driver who charged tourists 900 kuna to transport them from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Split to Split Airport. Taxi drivers note that the real price should have been around 300 kuna, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

The passengers realized that it was illegal transportation when the driver did not want to take them to the airport but insisted on dropping them off at a nearby bus stop.

The passenger recorded the incident, and in the video, he emphasized that Split is a wonderful city and that, in his case, the problem is not the money but the incorrect behavior of the driver. Furthermore, he warned guests not to take illegal transportation so as not to find themselves in a similar situation.

The driver noticed that the guest was recording him on his mobile phone and asked him to delete the video, which he did not do, but shared publicly.

After paying the requested amount, the passenger greeted the driver with the words, “Don’t do that.”

You can watch the video (in English) below.

On the bright side, the local community has jumped in to show that this illegal taxi driver is not representative of the genuine hospitality in the region. 

One example comes from local tour guide Ives Cikatić, who replied to the tourist in the video posted in the Split Croatia Travel 2021 Facebook group. 

"Dear Sir

I am a local tour guide. I have worked in tourism since I was 17, that's 30 years now. I have witnessed all sorts of things and felt gutted for this kind of scam. Absolutely disgusting, disrespecting Croatia by acting like this, embarrassing all of us, working hard to present our beautiful country in the best possible way.

The thing is, even if he is illegal, if he charged 300kn, I could understand, but anything above it is an absolute rip-off, disrespectful and embarrassing. We are all humans trying to survive in these difficult times, while Corona messed up our lives. So I understand if someone is trying to make some money for a living, but this guy has gone way too far. I know he is not the only one.

However, for all the others, use other services like Cammeo taxi. They even have an app, and the price is 190kn. As a local, I use them often. In Zagreb, I have my favorite driver, and I call him the day before to let him know about the rides I will need. Also, there are others like Bolt, Uber, and regular taxis with taxi-meter in their cars.

The Airport Shuttle bus to Split port is I think 35kn, you can take rides mentioned above to dock in Trogir for the Bura Line & offshore boats, public transport from Trogir to Split by sea and enjoy the view and navigation to Split port. Also, use the public bus line number 37 that stops at the main road under the pedestrian Airport bridge www.promet-split.hr there are ways.

I am sorry, Sir, that you had to go through this. If you ever come back to Split, you and your daughter will have a free tour from me as a professional tour guide, and I invite you to my home for a typical local dinner with my family and friends. Feel free to contact me anytime.

Thank you for speaking well about our country as you will pass it on to others, and thank you for referring to the things that aren't good so we can improve. That is what matters and is most appreciated.

Thank you for visiting Croatia, especially my hometown, Split, and once again, please take my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience you had to go through.

Kindly,

Ives Cikatić"

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