Dubrovnik Airport unscathed by Croatia strike

Strong May for Dubrovnik Airport

Dubrovnik Airport has managed to see its passenger numbers rise in May despite an eight day long strike by Croatia Airlines cabin crew which saw many of its flights cancelled. While Dubrovnik saw the least amount of cancelations, with Zagreb and Split bearing the brunt of the industrial action, the airport’s May results are an achievement. In the first three weeks of May, the airport handled 117.933 passengers, a significant 14% increase compared to last year’s 103.368 passengers. The airport also recorded an increase in the number of flight operations by 1.7%.

This May, the number of passengers using Croatia Airlines to and from Dubrovnik decreased some 2.3%. A total of 25.947 passengers used the airline in the first three weeks compared to last year’s 26.541. The number of Croatia Airlines operated flights from Dubrovnik decreased by 3.2% as a result of the strike.

With just a month left until Croatia joins the European Union, Dubrovnik Airport is set to be the biggest winner from the country’s accession with a major spike in tourists and passengers expected. In the first four months of the year the airport handled 145.124 passengers, some 100 less than during the same period last year. The airport experienced a notable decrease in numbers in April. In 2012 Dubrovnik Airport beat its 1987 passenger record by handling 1.480.470 passengers and positioned itself as the fourth busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, behind only Belgrade, Zagreb and Pristina. Today, Dubrovnik boasts the most modern passenger terminal in the country. A new terminal is being planned in place of the old airport building, constructed in 1962. The price tag of the project will amount to seventy million euros and is to be financed out of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In May 2010 a new terminal opened at Dubrovnik Airport stretching over 13.700 square metres. It has the capacity to handle two million passengers per year.