Croatia | 9 international airports support tourism development - connectivity with Greece

Croatia has a developed airport network, which includes three main airports in Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, with the latter two serving, for the most part, tourism purposes during the summer season.

In this context, the market research on transport and interconnection infrastructure in Croatia, which was carried out by the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in Zagreb, is of particular interest. Some of the most important conclusions of the research on Croatian airports, air connectivity between Greece and Croatia, as well as the activity of airlines in Croatia, are listed below.

The connectivity of Croatian airports has been significantly strengthened after the pandemic, while passenger traffic is also on an upward trend. Croatia Airlines, which is still a state-owned company, has implemented a medium-term plan to completely renew its fleet, while gradually increasing the number of connections it serves, mainly within Europe.

In particular, the country currently has 9 international airports. Franjo Tudman Airport in Zagreb is the busiest and is the main air hub. Split Airport, located in Cilipi (near Dubrovnik), has the longest runway in Croatia.

Osijek Airport is the only airport in Eastern Croatia, while Rijeka Airport in the west is located near Omišalj (on the island of Krk), about 25 km from the port. Two more airports are located on islands – Brac Airport on the island of the same name and Losinj Airport on Mali Losinj. Pula Airport is located near the city, serving the Istrian peninsula. In addition, Zadar Airport is located in Zemunik Donji, near the city, and serves the eponymous Region.

Connectivity of Croatian airports

According to the winter flight schedule 2024/2025, Croatian airports are directly connected to 28 countries, via 150 routes. The majority of scheduled flights connect Croatia with Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In addition to European countries, Croatia also has direct connections to destinations on other continents, such as the UAE and Qatar.

The cities with the highest frequency of connections to Croatia are Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam and London. The largest number of flights is concentrated at Zagreb Airport (65%), followed by Split and Zadar airports with an equal share of 12%. As for air carriers, during the winter flight schedule, Croatia Airlines, Ryanair, and Lufthansa operate the largest number of flights.

During the summer season, flights at Croatian airports record a significant increase. According to data from the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sports, in the summer of 2024, Croatia had direct connections to 133 cities in 41 countries, via 517 routes. In addition to European routes, during the summer flight schedule, Croatia is connected to South Korea, the USA, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

The number of flights to Turkey is at a relatively high level. Turkish Airlines, which has been operating in Croatia since 1998, connecting Zagreb with Istanbul, recently announced that it will operate 3 daily flights to Istanbul from the summer of 2025. Pegasus Airlines launched flights between Zagreb and Istanbul from January 2024, with 2 flights per week. Croatia Airlines also operates Zagreb and Split connections, seasonally, with Istanbul.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

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