January 11, 2021 – Unlike the record 2019, when more than 11.4 million passengers passed through Croatian airports, in the crisis 2020, that number dropped by as much as 81 percent, counting less than 2.2 million passengers.

At the beginning of each new year, the revenues from the last tourist year are added up, and tourists' numbers are concluded. However, it was inevitable that in 2020, during which world tourism experienced a massive decline due to the coronavirus pandemic, would also affect tourist numbers.

As reported earlier, the Croatian tourism sector saw 50 percent fewer tourist overnight stays in 2020 than the record 2019. Likewise, commercial aviation experienced its largest decline in history. In 2020, Croatian airports accepted and dispatched less than 2.2 million passengers, writes Croatian Aviation.

Traffic to Croatia's three largest airports, Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, has been growing steadily for years, but this series has been interrupted by a global pandemic. The three mentioned airports had over 9.6 million passengers in 2019, while in 2020, they recorded less than 2 million passengers together (1,929,336). The fact that the other five Croatian airports had 242,827 passengers last year is also devastating, of which Zadar alone served over 120,000 passengers.

Source: Franjo Tuđman Zagreb Airport

With 924,823 passengers throughout the year, the main Croatian airport Franjo Tuđman Zagreb failed to reach the millionth passenger in 2020. However, almost half of the total Croatian traffic in 2020 was realized at the Zagreb airport.

Although it recorded an increase in the number of passengers in January and February compared to the same period in 2019, Franjo Tuđman Airport recorded a decrease in the number of passengers of 73 percent compared to 2019.

Unlike Zagreb Airport, Split Airport in January and February has modest traffic compared to the summer, seasonal months, and so it was in 2020. However, after the global pandemic hit Croatia, air traffic in Split almost stopped.

However, compared to other Croatian airports on the coast, Split still had a certain number of passengers in the peak season, especially in August. Still, the numbers in the post-season dropped drastically again. With 674,366 passengers, Split Airport recorded a decrease in the number of passengers of 79.58 percent compared to 2019.

Dubrovnik Airport was one of the biggest losers last year. It was closed in April, while the traffic was very poor in May and June. An increase in the number of passengers was recorded only in July and August, but not enough to avoid a large drop in the number of passengers.

Although many companies flew to Dubrovnik this summer, the planes were empty rather than full, as confirmed by statistics. The decrease in the number of passengers at Dubrovnik Airport is 88.6 percent compared to 2019.

Source: Zadar Airport

Traffic also dropped drastically at Zadar Airport, but not as much as in Pula. These two Croatian airports have been competing in the number of passengers for several years, and the difference between them is relatively small. Nevertheless, in 2020, Zadar accepted almost 40,000 more passengers than Pula. Zadar Airport recorded a drop in the number of passengers of 84.93 percent compared to 2019, and Pula Airport 89.6 percent.

In 2019, Rijeka Airport finally exceeded 200,000 passengers for the first time in its history. Still, the numbers dropped drastically in 2020 as many airlines have given up on introducing seasonal routes to this airport due to the global pandemic. Rijeka Airport thus recorded a decrease in the number of passengers of 86.22 percent compared to 2019.

In 2020, Osijek Airport had only domestic PSO (Public Service Obligation) lines and the Eurowings line to Stuttgart, but only in August. It recorded a decrease in the number of passengers of 85.72 percent compared to the previous 2019.

Brač Airport also recorded a decline in the number of passengers in 2020. A slightly more significant number of passengers was recorded only in July and August, but these are also modest numbers compared to the 2019 summer season.

You can see the graphs of the 2020 traffic from all Croatian airports at Croatian Aviation.

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ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - Zadar Airport has been accredited in the Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Health Accreditation programme which has been designed to help reassure the public that airport facilities remain safe and that precautions are being taken to reduce any risk to their health.

The accreditation is valid for the next 12 months.

After a long evaluation, it has been established that Zadar Airport operates in line with ACI and International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines and international industry standards.

"We are confident that our efforts will help us succeed in achieving this common goal and that is safe travelling," the airport said in a press release on Saturday.

November 16, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as SAS plans Copenhagen - Zadar next summer. 

Croatian Aviation reports that SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans to introduce a new route to Croatia next summer.

Namely, it is a line between Copenhagen and Zadar, which was originally supposed to operate this summer, but due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the airline gave up on its launch.

SAS has now announced this new route for the summer of 2021. It should be in operation from the end of June to mid-August, very short compared to other lines of this airline that operate to Croatia mainly from April to the end of September.

The Copenhagen - Zadar route will operate twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, on CRJ900 aircraft with a capacity of 90 seats in this carrier's fleet.

Next summer, SAS plans to operate to Pula, Split, and Dubrovnik from numerous Scandinavian cities (Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Aarhus, Bergen, and Kristiansand), but the realization of flights will primarily depend on the epidemiological situation and demand.

It is important that SAS's summer flight schedule for next year maintained all routes to Croatia from the summer season of 2019, estimating at this time that next summer season, the demand for Croatia will be significantly better than this year.

Like all other airlines, SAS also records a significant decline in passengers and revenue. The occupancy of Scandinavian Airlines aircraft was 50.6% in July, 46.7% in August, only 35.8% in September, and 37.3% in October.

This summer, SAS had reduced traffic to Pula and Split, while there were no regular lines to Dubrovnik. Pula had a direct connection with Copenhagen, while Split had four lines; to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Gothenburg.

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July 17, 2020 - Business troubles caused by the coronavirus will bring considerable annual losses to airlines, and 2020 will be remembered as “the worst year in the history of the aviation industry”. The crisis has not bypassed Split Airport in Kastela, where it is estimated that this year's losses at the end of the year will reach 2 million fewer passengers compared to 2019, when more than three million passengers landed at that airport.

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the first 6 months of this year, Split Airport had a turnover of 108,000  passengers, while in the first half of last year, 1.2 million passengers were recorded. If we compare the month of June, the decline is about half a million passengers. This year, 26,000 passengers were realized, while last year, 513,000 passed through Split Airport.

"Until July 13, we had a turnover of 55,000 passengers, and by the end, we expect another 65,000, which at the end of the month will amount to a total of about 120,000 passengers. In the first 6 months of this year, we recorded a loss of about a million passengers, and we will lose that much more in July and August. So we are in the red about 2 million passengers," said Mate Melvan of Split Airport.

When it comes to companies that fly to Split Airport, the situation is somewhat better, but the problem, they point out, is that there are no passengers.

"Unlike last year when we were connected with about 58 global companies, this year we are connected with 30. I must emphasize that only ten of these thirty companies last year accounted for 90 percent of our total turnover last year. I think we are well covered in this regard, but the problem is that there are no passengers. People just don’t travel by plane and that’s where the whole problem lies. Last weekend, our port had the highest traffic, there are all the main carriers and there are no obstacles and problems," concludes Melvan.

It is interesting to note that in April this year, there were only six passengers, and in the same month last year, the traffic was more than 156,000 passengers.

Vienna, Warsaw, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Riga are just some of the twenty or so airports that are currently connected to Dubrovnik. However, the "real season" should start soon, when flights from Great Britain begin. British Airways (from London - three times a week), Jet2.com, EasyJet and others are establishing lines with certainly the most important tourist market for Dubrovnik. Low-cost carrier Ryanair is already flying on a route to Dublin, Ireland, and other airlines have decided to resume in an attempt to at least partially recoup losses in recent months.

Despite everything, by the end of July, Dubrovnik should be connected with more than 30 European cities. Compared to the current situation, traffic is expected to triple by the end of August. Thus, according to the announcements, there should be as many as 140 landings and take-offs at Dubrovnik Airport on the first weekend of August.

"It all depends on the epidemiological situation both in our country and in the countries from which our guests come. Most of the airlines we have worked with before are coming back, new ones are coming, and some have failed due to the corona crisis. We have to be optimistic because the situation is moving as we predicted," says the director of Dubrovnik Airport Frano Luetic.

Despite the unprecedented crisis for air traffic around the world, the airport is proud to highlight this week's agreement on the intercontinental connection of Dubrovnik and Dubai with Flydubai, and the start of flights from new destinations in Kyiv, Ukraine, Budapest, and Vilnius in Lithuania.

However, even with such an increase, the airport will find it difficult to achieve 30 percent of last year's traffic in July and August, which is mostly at the level of total air traffic worldwide. Namely, this year, up to thirty international planes a day will land at the airport in Cilipi during July and August, while in the same period last year there were even more than sixty.

The semi-annual number of passengers at the end of June last year was 1,059,684, while this year's number was 87,026 passengers in the same period, which is just over eight percent. Also, in June 2019, there were 415,876 passengers, while this year there were 10,592, which means that with the greatest optimism this year, it is difficult to expect more than half a million passengers at the airport.

"The Dubrovnik area and everything that gravitates to our airport are much smaller than the often mentioned area of ​​Split and their airport, which currently has more planes and passengers than us. One should know that Split gravitates to more than half a million local people, and their tourist capacities range from Zadar to the Neretva, and from numerous islands to the deep hinterland and Medjugorje. Our area is cramped and has less than a hundred thousand people, without the roads that Split has and with less tourist capacity. We are also oriented towards guests of higher purchasing power given that we have a lot more five-star hotels. And that is the reason why low-cost carriers opt more for Split because such is the offer and the purchasing power of passengers," says Luetic.

Last weekend, 3870 passengers passed through Zadar Airport. Compared to last year, the turnover is lower by 70 percent, and judging by the forecasts, these figures will be transferred to all of July. Namely, the expected weekly traffic in July is about 60 commercial aircraft, or 120 rotations, while during August, 70 commercial aircraft or 140 arrivals and departures are expected.

"Although it is difficult and ungrateful to give any forecasts at the moment, we expect about 33,000 passengers in July, and about 60 thousand in August. By the end of the year, the total traffic should reach the number of about 150,000 passengers, which is 19 percent of last year's result," said the management of Zadar Airport about the season which, if corona had not happened, should have been a record.

Last year, the traffic at Zadar Airport increased by 30 percent compared to 2018, and they welcomed the end of the year with more than 800,000 passengers. On the wings of these results, which were the best in the history of Zadar airport, this summer was greeted even more ambitiously.

This is best illustrated by the projections of the largest low-cost carrier in the world, Ryanair, which announced in early 2020 that it will carry a total of 670,000 passengers on 30 lines and its base in Zadar this season, 50 percent more than a year earlier. Instead, Ryanair currently flies on only ten routes, and the base, which was supposed to house three aircraft with staff for eight months, has been postponed until the summer of 2021.

In addition to Ryanair, whose share in traffic is by far the largest with almost 70 percent, ten other airlines are currently flying to Zadar Airport, connecting Zemunik with 29 European destinations.

Whether that number will be maintained or increased next season, no one currently wants to predict. Because it’s hard to say what will be next month, let alone next summer.

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July 6, 2020 - From the first of July, low-cost airlines finally took off for Zadar Airport.

HRTurizam reports that 5,270 tourists visited Zadar on July 2 (14.6 thousand on the same day last year) or 36 percent of last year's figures.

This tells us that. tourist traffic is recovering somewhat and that the Adria Tour has not left long-term negative consequences for Zadar. At least according to current data.

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Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, has been flying 10 flights to/from Zadar since the beginning of July. Also, the Polish national airline LOT landed in Zadar on July 3, and the flight from Warsaw to Zadar will operate once a week, like many others.

According to the eVisitor system, Zadar ranks sixth in terms of tourist arrivals in the Republic of Croatia from the beginning of the year to the end of June (43,000 arrivals). Most of the work was done in household facilities (42 percent) and hotels (32 percent), while camps, non-commercial accommodation and other catering accommodation with an additional 26 percent of turnover statistically filled the overall figures.

Clearly, all these data are far from last year's record numbers of tourist traffic in Zadar, but given the pandemic circumstances in March, April and May and the fact that tourism is just beginning to happen, they are not catastrophic, especially after the Adria Tour.

When it comes to overnight stays of domestic and foreign guests for the same six-month period, with 150 thousand overnight stays, Zadar holds the ninth position in Croatia ahead of Split, Opatija, Crikvenica and other destinations.

"The decline in tourist traffic is significant, but in the case of Zadar, it is not so catastrophic. Of course, we all expect a speedy recovery of tourist traffic due to the importance of tourism in the economy of Zadar and the whole country, so the fact that most European countries see Croatia as a safe destination is now really encouraging. It seems that better numbers can be expected during July and August, when many will head to tourist destinations outside their countries, but we can also expect a significant arrival of domestic guests. The re-establishment of air traffic is especially important for Zadar," emphasized the Zadar Tourist Board.

Thus, when compared to last year's figures for tourist traffic in Zadar, June's 30 percent share in overnight stays and 25 percent in arrivals, in circumstances when most European countries have not yet opened their borders, it really does not seem so bad. And that is within the framework at the national level, as well as forecasts before the start of the season. Surely everyone would sign 30% of the turnover immediately before the start of the tourist season, and anything beyond that will be a great result in this uncertain year.

During June, most tourist overnight stays in Zadar were realized by Croats with a share in total overnight stays of 30 percent, and after domestic guests, the best were Germans with 22 percent, followed by Austrians with 13 percent, Slovenes with 11 percent, Czechs with 5 percent, Hungarians with 3 percent, while guests from Poland, Slovakia, Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina each had a 2 percent share in total overnight stays.

Domestic tourists realized a little more than 22 thousand overnight stays, while foreign guests had about 51 thousand overnight stays. When it comes to organizing tourist arrivals, 79 percent of guests came individually, while 21 percent of tourists arrived in Zadar through travel agencies.

June 30, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split, Dubrovnik, Pula and Zadar.

Croatian Aviation reports that Austrian national carrier Austrian Airlines will introduce the Vienna-Zadar route in this year's summer flight schedule. The route was initially announced from the end of March with one flight per day.

Austrian currently operates from Vienna to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

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The Vienna-Zadar line is being introduced, three times a week, from July 10. Type 195 aircraft will operate on this line every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, with the exception of the first day of operations when Austrian will operate on Friday as well. As we mentioned, the line was originally supposed to operate daily, with a larger capacity aircraft from the very beginning of the summer flight schedule, but due to the pandemic, it is being introduced only now, in July.

Although Austrian announced the flight schedule for July, there have been some changes and a significant increase in the number of weekly flights to Croatia.

The Vienna-Dubrovnik line was announced four times a week through July, but there has been a change, and the line will run as many as 6 times a week (from July 10), every day except Tuesdays.

The Vienna-Split route was to operate only three times a week, though the company modified the flight schedule to this airport and increased the number of weekly flights to as many as six (every day except Wednesday).

The Vienna-Zagreb route will have 8 weekly rotations with daily flights, with the exception that there will be two flights a day on the line on Thursdays.

Croatian Aviation also reports that well-known Irish low-budget carrier Ryanair will launch lines from Ireland and Great Britain to four Croatian airports this week.

From the beginning of July, Ryanair will fly to Croatia again. Flights to Zadar have already started (from Stuttgart and Vienna), while the other 8 lines from Zadar will begin operating this week.

From Wednesday, July 1, Ryanair will operate again on the route Dublin - Dubrovnik - Dublin. Flights are announced until the end of October and will take place twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays. As a reminder, before the pandemic, the company planned 4 weeks of flights on this line.

From Thursday, July 2, the company will establish traffic on the London - Pula - London (Stansted Airport) line. Flights on this route are also announced by the end of October, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. In previous summer seasons, Ryanair operated on this line up to 5 times a week.

From Saturday, July 4, the Dublin - Split - Dublin line will be introduced, which should operate until October 24, i.e., the end of the summer flight schedule. Although Ryanair flew significantly more weekly flights on this route last year, due to the crisis and reduced demand, two flights a week are currently announced, every Tuesday and Saturday.

In the second week of July, from Monday, July 6, Ryanair will operate again on the London - Rijeka - London (Stansted Airport) line. Throughout July, only one flight per week is announced, every Monday, while an increase to two weeks of flight is expected from the beginning of August (additional flight on Fridays). This line will operate slightly shorter than the others, until the end of September.

Ryanair previously canceled the line from London to Osijek, and it will operate to four Croatian airports this summer as well. The line from London to Zadar has also been canceled in this year's summer flight schedule.

As for AerLingus, which usually flies from Dublin to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik, all lines (except the one for Split) were marked as sold out in July and it is currently not possible to buy a ticket. The company confirmed that they are monitoring the situation and will react by introducing lines as soon as the conditions are met.

June 6, 2020 — Hotels on Zadar's historic peninsula are slowly starting to open their doors, but unfortunately, few guests are walking through them.

The Dalmatian town relies on small groups such as families or classmates, travelers from farther-flung corners of the world, or "city hopping" guests galavanting up and down the coast. There are none so far.

The small groups have suffered because of epidemiological measures limiting . Travelers making long trips have limited flight options. While "city hopping" has become a taboo issue, with isolation and social distancing remaining keys to staying healthy.

In short, Zadar's usual guests can't reach the city, or don't want to, according to Zadarski List.

The Boutique Hostel Forum started welcoming guests on May 15, making it among the first to open. Its occupancy has been about 10 guests per day.

"The number of guests in the hostel fluctuates greatly from day to day and depends on the day of the week, so it is difficult to draw a parallel with last year's figures, but from the opening on May 15 until today is about a dozen nights a day," said Frane Sklobar, the hostel's head of marketing. He added hostel guests often don't book well in advance, making it difficult to forecast the rest of the year. But if the planes don't start flying soon, things won't improve.

"Without air travel, there will certainly be no significant shift," Sklobar said. "Nevertheless, we believe that with the normalization of the overall situation and the introduction of air corridors, things will improve."

Bastion and Art Hotel Kalelarga have not yet opened, although they are ready and will likely  June 15 and July 1.

"We will open the Bastion when the works on [the city's walls next to the hotel] near completion, when the access to the hotel is more or less decent, and the noise from the works is reduced," said Mladenka Štura, who runs Bastion and Art Hotel Kalelarga. "As far as reservations are concerned, it is very bad and at the moment there are no indications that there will be any positive shift."

Previous reservations have been canceled, by and large, she said, with guests from the United States and Brazil and other countries harder-hit pulling out the most. But Štura said she won't give up.

"Although the hotels do not work, we work constantly," she said. The hotels are promoting destinations and facilities, as well as sales. They've also put a premium on their epidemiological protection measures.

"We are only upgrading the standards, all in order to protect our workers and guests," she said. "Nothing is a problem, we are ready, but there are simply no bookings."

The situation doesn't merit too many price drops or sales, Štura added.

"I don't think prices play a role at the moment, but whether the borders are open, whether tests are needed, self-isolation upon returning home and so on. If we were to lower prices, we would have to lower the level of service, starting with the groceries for breakfast and so on in each segment onwards."

Vjekoslav Bobić from the Almayer Hotel sees a similar dire situation unfolding.

"We opened, we are ready, and the guests ... that's another story," he said. "A very large number of reservations have been canceled. Our guests are mostly from distant lands where epidemiological measures and travel restrictions are still in place."

The hotel's making adjustments, trying to reorient itself to other guests, locals and those to whom the borders are open and have the opportunity to travel.

"We need to fight, stay in the market, maintain the level of service," Bobić said. "We really don’t have some too much ambition for this season."

But Bobic's motivations go beyond a profit.

"There are our employees. They are more than workers, we are a collective of a dozen people on whom as many families depend," he said. "The hotel is a large system and has high costs even when it is not working. But we can't shut up for a year now, keep quiet until it's all over."

June 2, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, and Zadar.

Ryanair plans to resume traffic to Zadar on selected lines from July. The first line from Stuttgart to Zadar, on which Lauda operates, will run from June 28. All other lines are planned to begin operations from the first week of July. 

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There is not a single new line planned for this year with aircraft based in Zadar. Also, no routes from France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom are on offer. 

Furthermore, on all routes operating from the beginning of July, the number of flights per week has been significantly reduced. Most flights per week have been announced on the Vienna-Zadar route, twice a week from the beginning of July, with reinforcements to three times a week in August. 

In other flight news, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Aegean Airlines has delayed the resumption of all of its flights to Croatia until September. While the airline planned to fly from Athens to Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split from the beginning of July, they will not resume operations until September 1 to Split, September 2 to Zagreb, and September 3 to Dubrovnik. 

Finally, Croatian Aviation reports that Austrian national carrier Austrian Airlines has confirmed it is re-establishing the Vienna-Zagreb-Vienna route from the end of June.

As announced earlier, Austrian will fly from Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik again this month, so it was logical to expect the introduction of a route to Zagreb, on which, in addition to Austrian, Croatia Airlines also operates regularly.

From June 29, Austrian Airlines will once again connect the capitals of Austria and Croatia with one flight a day.

In the morning, a departure from Vienna to Zagreb is planned at 06:40, with arrival in Zagreb at 7:35. Departure from Zagreb to Vienna is planned for 8:15 am, with arrival in Vienna at 9:15 am.

In the afternoon, the plane will take off from Vienna at 13:10, and the arrival in Zagreb is planned for 14:05. The return to Vienna is at 15:15, with arrival in the Austrian capital at 16:10. In addition to direct (p2p) demand, passengers from Vienna are being offered a large number of destinations in Europe that Austrian will restart from the end of this month.

The smaller capacity aircraft, the DashQ400 and Embraer 190, are planned for the flights.

The company is currently working on a new flight schedule for July, but Austrian is expected to continue flying once a day on the Vienna-Zagreb-Vienna route in the first half of July.

March 13, 2020 - Ryanair confirmed today (March 13, 2020) that its planned summer base in Zadar has been canceled due to the worsening situation with the COVID-19 virus and increased travel bans by the Government.

The base, which Lauda should manage on behalf of Ryanair, will now be delayed until the summer of 2021, reports Zadarski.hr.

“Ryanair regrets that the decision will result in a series of canceled flights. All affected passengers received email cancellation notifications. Concerned travelers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel voucher that can be used on Ryanair flights within the next 12 months,” an official statement said.

“Ryanair continues to adhere fully to the guidelines of the WHO and national governments to ban travel. The situation is changing daily and all passengers on flights affected by travel bans or cancellations have received emails and are offered flight changes, full refunds, or travel bonuses,” added Ryanair.

"Ryanair apologizes sincerely to all our customers and our dear travelers for these disruptions caused by the COVID-19 virus and the government-imposed restrictions," they concluded.

To clarify, only passengers that have received notification that their flight is canceled are affected. If you have not received an email from Ryanair, there is no reason to panic. Flights booked for music festivals this summer, like Hideout, are still scheduled.

The Irish low-cost carrier officially notified Zadar Airport on Friday afternoon, when spokesperson Nikola Barac commented on the news for Zadarski.hr.

“Zadar Airport was informed by Ryanair that unfortunately, flights on individual routes were canceled due to the coronavirus. About 150 flights to multiple destinations have been canceled. The most canceled flights are from Dublin, London, Brussels and Stockholm, while some routes such as Vienna, Prague, Gothenburg, Dusseldorf and Karlsruhe depart according to the scheduled flight in late March and early April,” confirmed Barac.

The international flight season begins when Ryanair's summer flight schedule launches on March 29. This year, they announced connections to as many as 32 destinations, of which 12 are new.

“The effect of canceled flights on Zadar Airport traffic will range to about 25,000 arriving passengers or about 50 percent of traffic in April,” Barac said about how Zadar airport will suffer due to the cancellation of flights.

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February 3, 2020 - Zadar Airport will be the fourth in Croatia to reach one million passengers in a single year.

Ex Yu Aviation reports that thanks to considerable growth in traffic, which Zadar Airport projects this year, the coastal airport will begin construing a new terminal this year, worth 50 million euro, financed from its own funds. 

“The 2020 summer season schedule justifies our efforts to expand capacities at Zadar Airport, which will result in an increase in the level of service and create preconditions for further growth,” said Zadar Airport General Manager Klišmanić said. 

But just how many passengers will Zadar Airport handle in 2020? 

Over one million. 

“Having welcomed 800,000 travelers in 2019 is a big achievement for us. It is a milestone. However, new records will be broken in 2020,” said Zadar Airport General Manager, Josip Klišmanić. “During our first fifty years of operations, we handled under a million passengers annually. This will no longer be the case in 2020,” he added. Recall, in 2019, Zadar Airport handled 801,347 passengers, which is an additional 197,308 compared to 2018. 

Zadar Airport will thus become the fourth airport in the country to welcome one million passengers in a single year, after Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

Ex Yu Aviation claims that this growth will be driven by Lauda, which will have three aircraft based there over the summer with many new routes. Furthermore, Ryanair will increase traffic to 672,000 travelers this year.

“We are delighted to launch our Zadar summer 2020 schedule, operated by a new Lauda base, as part of our commitment to growing Croatian traffic, jobs and tourism. Our Zadar summer 2020 schedule features 31 routes in total, including eleven new routes, which will deliver 672,000 customers per annum and support more than 500 jobs at Zadar Airport,” said Eddie Wilson, Ryanair’s Chief Executive. Ex Yu Aviation adds that Austrian Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Jet2 and easyJet will launch new routes this year.

The airport also plans to extend its runway and expand its apron when it has the funds. The airport will look to the European Union or other means to finance the project.

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