February 7, 2020 - All signs are leading to NK Zadar going bankrupt. In an effort to protect whatever financial assets they currently possess, the club's leaders have established a new club, HNK Zadar.
24 Sata reports that almost two months ago, the NK Zadar leaders came together to form HNK Zadar due to financial problems within the club.
At its session on November 15, the Supervisory Board formed the Association of the Croatian Football Club Zadar, with its headquarters at Hrvoja Ćustića 2, the same address as NK Zadar.
HNK Zadar was registered in the Register of Associations of the Republic of Croatia on December 16. Its president is Damir Knezevic, who was appointed by the City of Zadar in July last year to replace NK Zadar director Svetko Custic.
It is logical to assume, therefore, that the City was also behind the decision to establish HNK Zadar. So, did the Knezevic-led administration do this as a loophole to prepare for bankruptcy?
“HNK Zadar was founded due to the financial problems at NK Zadar s.d.d., above all, to protect the NK Zadar football school because it is the most important. Given the blocks that took place in December and January, we had to protect the football school so it would continue to function,” said Damir Knezevic.
Thus, the management was expecting the clubs' accounts to be blocked and resorted to founding a new club for this reason.
“The decision to found the Association was made by the people who currently operate the club. I did not know that the account would be blocked, but I saw that it was a possible scenario,” said Knezevic.
Knezevic sees no problem with being the director of NK Zadar and the president of HNK Zadar at the same time.
“The same practice is known in other Croatian clubs that have been in a similar situation. HNK Zadar is not operational, it is idle, and the question is whether it will function. It will depend on what the assembly decides,” says Knezevic, however, HNK Zadar is ‘active’ in the Register of Associations.
A bankruptcy decision is also expected.
“The answer can be given by the club owner, which is the shareholder. They must be thoroughly acquainted with the financial situation of the club. They know the income and where it comes from, and they know the expenses. Bankruptcy? I will not participate in it or enforce it. As a director, I will hold authority under company law,” he explains.
The money the City needed to give the club to function this year went to a loan the club raised last summer with the guarantee of the City, so there was nothing left in the register. Knezevic expected an inflow of money from the transfer of Ivan Santini from Anderlecht to China, but that went to the debt collectors.
Zadar should return to the Second Croatian League this season, but has not been granted a license. They are currently in fourth place in the Third League-South rankings with good prospects of getting a promotion, but without the money, they'll go nowhere.
The players, allegedly, had no idea.
“I told coach Pincic that players should be told about the financial uncertainty in the club recently. We will tell them soon,” Knezevic concluded.
HRT reported that the players requested an urgent meeting with Knezevic, who eventually addressed them in the locker room. Among other things, the players were told that they would not be able to be paid and were told to contact Mayor Branko Dukic.
The team captain Jure Jerbic also commented:
“The truth is, we had a meeting with the club director because we want to know what we are up to and what the plan is for the future. Director Knezevic said that the club's account was blocked and that the financial situation was tough and that made our salaries questionable. He also said that we should wait for the general meeting in the middle of March, but that doesn't make sense. That is too long, and we must know about our destiny in a few dyas. Next week we are going to talk to Mayor Dukic so we will see what and how to proceed because we received no response from Knezevic.”
The club, which grew World Cup stars like Luka Modric, Danijel Subasic, Sime Vrsaljko, and Dominik Livakovic, has hit rock bottom.
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February 7, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik, Zadar, and Zagreb.
Avio Radar reports that Spanish national airline Iberia, a member of the global airline association OneWorld, has announced larger aircraft on its route to Dubrovnik. On select flights on the Madrid-Dubrovnik route, from April 18-25 and September 7-26 this year, the larger, Airbus A330 will be used. The smaller, Airbus A321 aircraft usually runs on this route.
Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that Polish national carrier and Star Alliance member LOT Polish Airlines have announced a new route from Poland to Zadar. Namely, the new route will connect Rzeszow and Zadar once a week, from Saturday, May 30 to September 19, 2020. The Bombardier Q400 aircraft will run on this route. Rzeszow is located in southeastern Poland, and this will be the first scheduled line from Rzeszow to any Croatian destination.
Previously, the Polish regional carrier EuroLOT flew the Bombardier Q400 from smaller towns in Poland to Zadar, but these lines were discontinued when LOT took over EuroLOT.
LOT will also increase capacity on the Warsaw(Okecie-Fryderyk Chopin)-Zadar route. Specifically, in the heart of the season, the larger Boeing 737-800 aircraft was announced on this line instead of the smaller ERJ-195 Embraer.
Finally, Ex Yu Aviation reports that we have good news from Zagreb Airport, which welcomed 203,035 passengers in January, which is up 6.2%. Aircraft movements also grew from 2.9% to 3.133%.
Zagreb Airport General Manager, Huseying Bahadir Bedir, expects this trend to continue
“We expect this trend to continue in 2020. Since the opening of the new passenger terminal, we have achieved significant results in overall traffic, such as an increase in passenger numbers, the number of destinations, new carrier, cargo traffic, an increase in the number of employees, as well as new shops and sales outlets that have been opened. With our strategies and strong focus on future development, we expect even better results in the years to come”.
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February 5, 2020 - The Japanese Foreign Minister has recognized the Zadar Tourist Board for its contribution to connecting Croatia and Japan through the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival", which has been held in Zadar since 2015.
Namely, Dalmacija Danas reports that the Japanese Ambassador to Croatia, Her Excellency Misako Kaji, presented the Zadar Tourist Board director, Mario Paleka, with the award at a ceremony at the Rector's Palace in Zadar on Tuesday.
Before the award was presented, a short documentary on the five years of the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" was screened.
In her address, Ambassador Kaji emphasized that this recognition by the Japanese Foreign Minister is given to individuals and organizations for their contribution to the advancement of Japan and other countries. She called the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" a "distinctive sign of Zadar in the spring" and emphasized:
"Tuna from Croatia is very well received and appreciated in Japan as a valuable ingredient of sushi, accounting for half of Croatia's exports to Japan, and the Festival brought Japan and Croatia closer to Zadar, bringing the Japanese culture closer to these areas. That is why I believe that the "Tuna, Sushi & Wine Festival" will continue to be organized in Zadar," Misako said, adding that some Croatian wines also found their place in the Japanese market.
Filip Brala/TZG Zadar
Zadar Tourist Board director Mario Paleka also thanked the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs for the award.
"This recognition confirms the importance and value of the Festival and the efforts of the Zadar Tourist Board. The basic prerequisite for the development of such a project is cooperation at all levels, from local, national and international. The festival, among other things, was a finalist last year in the selection for the Tourism Event of the Year at the Days of Croatian Tourism, all of which confirms the long-term thinking of my predecessors Messrs. Supa and Rados to create, expand and enhance the Festival," said Paleka. He added that this recognition obliges the organization of even more content and attractive festivals and the continuation of cooperation between Japan and Croatia, with an emphasis on Zadar.
Zadar Mayor Branko Dukic was also thankful for the valuable recognition:
"Tuna connected Zadar and Japan, many business relationships were created through the tuna and the Festival, and these relationships grew into a lasting friendship."
The awards ceremony was attended by Ines Stranja, Member of Parliament and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Croatian-Japanese Friendship Group; Head of Sector for Eurasia, Eastern Partnership, Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Drazen Margeta; Ivan Vodopivec, Honorary Consul of Japan in Split; Zadar Mayor Branko Dukić; Zadar Chamber of Commerce President Dario Jurin; president and CEO of "Kali Tuna" Jiro Kamba; Director of the Zadar County Tourist Board Mihaela Kadija and representatives of other Zadar tuna companies.
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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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January 30, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, and Rijeka.
Avio Radar reports that Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling has announced a new route from France to Dubrovnik as part of this summer’s flight schedule. Namely, the Paris (Rossy-Charles de Gaulle Airport)-Dubrovnik service will run twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, from the beginning of the summer flight schedule, or March 30, 2020.
This will be the first Vueling line from France to Croatia. This route remains in operation until the end of the summer flight schedule with two flights per week. An Airbus A320 aircraft will work on this line.
Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that the German airline Condor will increase traffic from Germany to Split for the 2020 summer flight schedule. The Dusseldorf-Split line has been strengthened, and instead of last year’s two flights per week, on Thursdays and Sundays, there will be a third flight per week this year on Fridays. An Airbus A321 aircraft will operate on this line, which will begin three weeks earlier than last year, or, from April 10.
The Frankfurt-Split route will keep three flights a week, on Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. The third line between Hanover and Split will work on Friday and Sunday.
In contrast, Condor will reduce traffic from Germany to Zadar. Namely, last year’s lines from Dusseldorf and Hanover to Zadar have been canceled. Only the Frankfurt-Zadar line remains in operation with one flight per week, on Sundays. It will also begin working a month later compared to last year, or from May 31, 2020.
The Frankfurt-Dubrovnik line will operate once a week, on Sundays instead of Saturdays, but will begin working a month and a half later than last year, or from May 31, 2020. The Frankfurt-Rijeka line remains in operation twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays, just as it did last year. The Airbus A320 aircraft has been announced on all other routes listed.
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A woman who lost control of her car, which hung precariously off the side of a wooden jetty in Zadar, was rescued and escaped without injury. Early this morning there was a car accident along the Zadar shoreline for which a picture speaks more than a thousand words.
The dramatic rescue operation and rapid intervention was performed by Zadar firefighters, which prevented a woman and her vehicle from falling into the sea on Trpimirova obala near Starački dom (Nursing Home). The driver escaped without injuries, and firefighters are trying to save the vehicle as well, according to Toni Pajkin/HRT on January 23, 2020
This morning didn’t start off well for the driver of a Nissan. Going around the bend on Draženica, she lost control of her car, while attempting straighten the steering wheel. Although she didn't end up in the sea; most of her car hung off a wooden jetty suspended over water.
The car had stopped before it crashed. But even a slight motion posed a threat of the car tumbling down into the sea. Although the water is not very deep in this area, crashing into the water would have meant that the woman, who was trapped in the car, could have sustained serious injuries.
She could have sustained arm and leg fractures, head injuries or suffered even more severe consequences. Although the possibility of drowning was ruled out, because the firefighters and ambulances arrived quickly and were already on the scene, it is not difficult to imagine a potential ugly outcome.
The woman didn’t panic and remained calm in her car. She called her husband – and you can see him in the video wearing a black hat watching the rescue. She stayed still so as not to rock the car and waited for rescuers to arrive. Within 20 minutes, firefighters secured the car and had extended a brace over the water. Then they looped a strap through the window openings and attached it to the crane, which stabilized the car.
After that, the woman climbed out of the vehicle, kissed her husband and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She then spent a few minutes in the ambulance to so that professionals could conduct preventive check-up. But when she came out, she said repeatedly to her husband, "I'm still shaking all over; hold me!"
Who wouldn’t shake after this experience on this foggy morning in Drošanjica. At the end of the rescue operation, the husband gave his thoughts on what happened: "Aw, no big deal. My wife parked the car the wrong way!" Both husband and wife were up for a little humor after the successful rescue.
Follow our Lifestyle page for keep track of driver and car rescues and creative parking techniques in Croatia.
January 18, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Zadar, Pula, and Split.
HRTurizam reports that the Vakantiebeurs Tourism Fair is held in the Dutch city of Utrecht from January 15 to 19, 2020. It is the largest tourism fair for business and general audiences in the Benelux area, with more than 1000 exhibitors attending the jubilee 50th edition of the fair this year, as well as the Croatian Tourist Board with 18 local co-exhibitors.
It is at the Vakantiebeurs Fair that new lines from the Netherlands and Belgium to Croatia have been announced.
"We are very pleased with the growing interest of airlines in Croatia, as is evidenced by the announcement of three new flights from the Netherlands and Belgium to Croatia this year, namely Easyjet from Amsterdam to Zadar, Ryanair from Maastricht to Zadar and TUIfly airlines from Brussels to Pula,” said Ivan Novak, Director of the HTZ Representation for Benelux.
During 2019, nearly 500,000 arrivals and approximately 3 million overnight stays were made from the Dutch market.
In other news, Ex Yu Aviation News reports that Croatia Airlines is planning to launch a service between Zagreb and Tirana this summer. Recall, while the Croatian national carrier used to operate on the Zagreb-Tirana route, the two cities haven’t been connected by the airline in years.
Namely, the airline's CEO Jasmin Bajić and Director of its Commercial Division, Slaven Žabo, discussed the potential new line with Albania’s Ambassador to Croatia, Riza Poda.
“Both parties agreed for talks between Croatia Airlines and relevant authorities in Albania to commence immediately in order for this important project to be realized as soon as possible,” the Albanian Embassy in Zagreb said.
Ex Yu Aviation adds that the Croatian carrier hoped to establish a base in Tirana back in 2016, though the project never came to fruition. Albanian national carrier Air Albania said it would launch flights to Croatia back in 2017, though they have yet to do so. The aviation portal added that an average of 24,000 Albanian passport holders visited Croatia annually over the last few years.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and a large delegation of Croatian investors will visit Tirana in May. The Croatian national carrier also plans to service Sofia and Podgorica this summer.
To end this week of flight news, Avio Radar reports that FlygBRA-Braathens Regional Airlines announced the first regular flight from Sweden to Croatia this summer. The new Malmo-Split route will run once a week, on Saturdays, from May 30 to September 26, 2020.
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ZAGREB, December 22, 2019 - Zadar police said on Saturday a criminal investigation of a physical assault on two US citizens in a night club in the coastal town showed the crime was not motivated by hate.
The police investigated two Croatian citizens aged 19 and 33 on suspicion that, in the early hours of October 20, they physically assaulted two US citizens aged 24 and 25, lightly injuring one, while the other refused medical assistance.
After the criminal investigation, a misdemeanour report has been filed against the two Croatians for disturbing the peace.
The investigation conducted so far shows the assault was not motivated by hate, police said, adding that the criminal investigation is continuing.
The two US citizens were African American soldiers and, the media reported in October, they were in Zadar on vacation and allegedly openly showed they were gay. The US Embassy in Zagreb condemned the attack, saying the well-being and security of US citizens abroad was one of the State Department's priorities.
More Zadar news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
December 21, 2019 - A criminal investigation into the physical assault of two U.S. citizens at a Zadar club has been completed, Zadar police said, noting that hatred was not a motive for the acts committed.
Jutarnji List reports that the police officers from the Criminal Police Service and the First Zadar Police Station completed a criminal investigation into two Croatian citizens, ages 19 and 33, on suspicion of physically assaulting two US citizens, aged 24 and 25, on October 20 at 3:15 a.m. at a hospitality facility at Obala Kralja Tomislava in Zadar. The 24- and 25-year-olds suffered from minor injuries, while the 25-year-old refused medical treatment, police said in a statement, adding that several witness interviews and other measures were conducted as part of the criminal investigation and actions within the jurisdiction of the police.
Following the criminal investigation against a 19-year-old and a 33-year-old, an indictment was filed for misdemeanors under Article 6 of the Law on Misdemeanors Against Public Order and Peace.
The research conducted so far has not identified a criminal element or that hate was a motive for the offense, police said, adding that the criminal investigation was continuing.
Recall, two black members of the United States Air Force were brutally attacked in October at the Opera nightclub in Zadar. On holiday from Virginia and Georgia, the two Americans were assaulted after they were seen ‘twerking’ at the nightclub, which led other nightclubbers to believe they were gay.
It was reported then that several Croatian men attacked the US airmen, which resulted in a trip to the local hospital where they were given medical attention for their injuries.
"Last night, we experienced one of the worst moments in our lives. A group of eight to ten Croatian men attacked us at the club. I have never felt so helpless in my life. It seemed like they did not want to let us live,” said the 24-year-old American, who shared his experience on social media.
The Zadar police confirmed to Zadarski.hr then that an incident occurred on Saturday night at the Opera nightclub involving two American citizens, aged 25 and 24. Police received the report at about 3:20 am., and the attack happened at about 3:10 am. The police reported that the attack on the two Americans involved several unidentified persons who inflicted minor bodily harm by striking them with their hands and feet. They added that they are working intensively to determine the identity of the attackers and the reasons they attacked at all. The Opera nightclub is owned by the Zagreb-based ‘Nas 4’ company, that is, the former Hvar mayor Pjerino Bebic and his business partner Slobodan Matenda from Split.
“A journey that started so beautifully ended in such a horrible way, but I am grateful that my friend and I are alive! We have a few bumps and bruises, but we'll be fine,” said the 24-year-old from Doerun, Georgia. His friend, a 25-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, shared the same story from the Zadar hospital. They name a local girl who helped them to the hospital as their angel.
You can see their accounts of what happened in the videos below.
The soldiers flew from Zadar to Frankfurt the following day.
"Thank you to everyone who gave us support. We are finally back home,” said the US airmen after the incident.
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December 15, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Pula, Zadar and Dubrovnik.
Avio Radar reports that low-cost carrier easyJet announced four new routes to Croatia in their 2020 summer flight schedule. Namely, Pula and Zadar will both receive new lines.
Both new lines to Pula arrive from the UK. Glasgow-Pula will run with two flights per week, on Mondays and Fridays, from June 22 to August 28, 2020, while London (Luton)-Pula will operate three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from April 28 to October 2, 2020. Easyjet already flies to Pula from London’s Gatwick Airport and Southend Airport. The line from Luton Airport will be the third from London to Pula.
There are also new arrivals between Zadar and the Netherlands and Switzerland. Namely, Amsterdam-Zadar will run twice a week, on Tuesdays and Sundays, from June 23 to August 30, 2020. The Basel/Mulhouse-Zadar route will run three times a week, on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from June 22 to August 29, 2020.
The Airbus A319 or larger Airbus A32- aircraft will fly on all new lines.
Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that Swiss national carrier Swiss International Air Lines, a member of the Star Alliance global airline association, has announced its first line to Dubrovnik in its 2020 summer flight schedule. The. Geneva-Dubrovnik route will run once a week, on Saturdays, from July 4 to August 29, 2020. The new Airbus 220-300 aircraft will service this line.
Finally, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines, both Star Alliance members, will expand their codeshare agreement.
Namely, LOT will add its code and flight numbers on routes from Zagreb to Sarajevo and Mostar starting January 1, 2020. Recall, Croatia Airlines already codeshares on LOT flights from Warsaw to Zagreb, Frankfurt, Vienna and Munich. LOT also has its flight numbers on Croatia Airlines' services from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, Split, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna, Ex Yu Aviation adds. LOT also announced new lines to Croatia for 2020, with seasonal services between Warsaw-Rijeka and Budapest-Dubrovnik.
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