It is the moment many thought would never happen, but the seaplane revolution has taken arguably its most important first step forward since the inaugural flight from Resnik to Jelsa last August.
A concession for downtown Split has been signed! Work will begin next week, and if all goes well, this should be completed by July 24. The team is working towards a maiden flight date of August 1, but this will be confirmed nearer the time, depending on progress.
Two other new stations will be opened to coincide with the Split city seaport - the island of Lastovo and Vela Luka on Korcula, and in the initial stages, ECA has confirmed to us that downtown Split will be connected to Lastovo, Vela Luka, Jelsa, Rijeka Airport, Mali Losinj, Pula, and soonafter, Novalja.
Total Croatia News (launching tomorrow, follow us on Facebook) contacted European Coastal Airlines for more information and received the following statement from CEO Captain Klaus Dieter Martin.
"This is a key development for the expansion of the ECA network. The ability to connect islands such as Hvar, Korcula, Mali Losinj and Lastovo to downtown Split means that the revolution of island hopping is truly beginning."
A very exciting development, and long overdue. Congratulations to the ECA team for the persistence. With such a large and sudden expansion, I am sure there will be some growing pains, but the long-term future of island hopping (says this regular Jelsa - Split commuter) is VERY exciting indeed.
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