Croatian airports record historic June

Airports across Croatia have recorded their busiest June to date, setting up a strong start to the summer season. Split Airport was the stand-out performer, handling more passengers than the country's busiest airport in Zagreb and recording double digit growth.

Zagreb Airport handled 267.259 passenger during the month, an improvement of 7.6% compared to June 2015. "We anticipate for such growth to continue in the coming period. During the first three days of July, passenger numbers were up 6% compared to last year, although we expect for the last weekend of August to be the busiest", Zagreb Airport said. Early on in the month, the airport handled its millionth passenger of the year, a week ahead of 2015. Contributing to its growth was Croatia Airlines which introduced four new routes in late May and early June, as well as Air Transat, which commenced services from Toronto to the Croatian capital. "We have very good cooperation with Croatia Airlines, which this year added new destinations such as Milan, St. Petersburg, Lisbon and Prague. We hope that both Croatian and foreign carriers will connect Zagreb with even more European destinations, although no firm agreements have been made yet", Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacque Feron, said. Croatia's busiest airport handled 1.2 million passengers during the first half of the year.

Split Airport saw its busiest start to the summer on record with the airport handling 321.000 passengers in June, an increase of 18% compared to the same month last year. During the month, both Germania and Aegean Airlines introduced flights to the city, while Wizz Air announced the launch of its new service from Warsaw, to commence later on in the summer. Over the weekend, the airport welcomed 40.000 passengers and saw off 160 flights, up 10%. The airport now estimates its annual passenger growth rate will amount to 10%. So far this year, it welcomed some 685.000 passengers, an increase of 12% compared to the same period in 2015.

Dubrovnik Airport also continued with its growth trajectory by welcoming 288.809 travellers in June, up 17.9% on the same month last year. The airport also saw its busiest 24 hours on record on June 30 when it registered 16.542 passengers. "That is well above our expectations. We anticipated our annual growth rate to amount to 3% or 4%. The double digit growth we have seen during the first half of the year has truly surprised us so it is difficult to predict how the rest of the season will play out", Dubrovnik Airport's Deputy General Manager, Frano Luetić, said. Over the weekend, the airport handled some 30.200 passengers.

Pula Airport saw its busiest June on record as well. It handled 67.313 passengers, an increase of 15% compared to the same month last year. Similar to its counterparts, it also registered a strong start to July with 10.254 travellers passing through its doors during the first three days of the month, up 11.2%. Over in Zadar, June figures were up 1.5% with 69.500 travellers handled. The airport welcomed 180.000 passengers during the first six months of the year, which is on par with last year's performance. "Zadar Airport anticipates registering its busiest year on record by handling over half a million passengers for the first time", the airport's spokesperson said.