The Croatian seaplane revolution continues, this time going international as downtown Split is connected to Italy.
There were two more unusual arrivals at Ancona Airport on November 11, 2015, as two Twin Otter seaplanes from European Coastal Airlines, whch can land on sea or land, arrived from the seaport in downtown Split on a promotional flight ahead of the launch of commercial flights on November 13.
The 59-minute flight, which will operate all year, initially three times a week over the winter period, is the first international connection for the seaplane operator, which commenced the first scheduled seaplane service in modern European aviation history in August 2014 with a flight from Resnik near Split Airport to Jelsa on the island of Hvar.
(European Coastal Airlines arrives at Ancona Airport on November 11, 2015)
The addition of Ancona is an important milestone for the company, which has been steadily adding destinations to its route this year. Currently, the airline offers connections to the islands of Lastovo, Korcula, Hvar, Rab, Losinj, as well as mainland locations in downtown Split, Resnik by Split Airport, Zadar Airport, Rijeka Airport and Pula. In addition to downtown Split, Ancona will also be connected to Rijeka Airport three times a week.
The arrival of the seaplane service, after a mammoth 14-year battle with bureaucracy, has proved to be a big hit with tourists, both for panorama flights of Croatia's stunning Adriatic coast, as well as slashing travel times and enabling a true island hopping experience. By way of comparison, the most common alternative to the 59-minute flight from downtown Split to Ancona is the overnight ferry between the two - a journey of ten hours.
The year-round connection is especially good news for Split and Central Dalmatia, which is steadily reinventing itself from a summer beach destination into a 12-month tourist destination, and Central Dalmatia last month was the number one region for tourism in Croatia for October for the first time.
