Split aims for three million passengers in 2018

Split Airport anticipates handling three million passengers in 2018, with the construction of its new terminal building progressing on schedule. General Manager, Lukša Novak, noted, "It took us ten years to grow from one million to two million travellers. Before the war, the airport was handling around a million passengers per year. However, it took us just three years to increase our figures from two million travellers to 2.8 million. In 2018 we will handle three million passengers". He added, "The increase is being fuelled by the growth in tourism, as well as Croatia's entry into the European Union. Security issues in other holiday hotspots have also aided the figures. Over the past five years we have been recording double digit growth".

Next year is expected to be the last Split Airport faces capacity constraints with 30% of work on its new passenger terminal already completed. "An investment of this magnitude is undertaken once every thirty years. The last time we expanded the terminal was in 2005 but the facility itself was built for the 1979 Mediterranean Games in Split. In any case, this is a complex investment taking place over an area of almost 80.000 square metres, with the terminal taking up 35.000 square metres. Upon completion in 2019, the entire terminal complex will spread over 48.000 square metres, which is comparable to our counterparts in Zagreb and Dubrovnik. It will satisfy our needs for the next twenty years, with some minor modifications inside the building", Mr Novak said.

The new terminal building will feature thirty check-in desks, six gates, a new automated baggage sorting facility and five carousels, while the gallery will boast restaurants, an observation deck and the business class lounge. The main floor will be circular in shape with natural sunlight coming in from glass sections of the roof. The overhaul of the existing terminal building will commence once the new one is completed and opened. The old terminal will be joined with the new facility to form a single unit (as pictured in the first photo) and will be used by non-schengen zone passengers. Furthermore, Split Airport plans to overhaul its runway, build a parallel taxiway and expand the apron in 2019, which should reduce congestion. A new car park and bus terminal, which have the capacity to accommodate 900 vehicles over an area of 35.500 square metres, have already been completed, while an enclosed pedestrian overbridge linking the area with the terminal building over the state road is currently under construction. Furthermore, the new terminal building is already taking shape. The entire investment is estimated to be worth some 59.7 million euros.

Rendering of Split Airport's new terminal

Split Airport registered a record 2.782.033 passengers during the January - November period, an increase of 23.1% on last year. It has cemented its position as the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia and was ahead of its counterpart in Zagreb for several months during 2017. However, Mr Novak noted that Split has no ambitions to surpass Zagreb Airport's traffic figures and become the country's busiest. To the contrary, the airport won't encourage airlines to operate night flights once it opens for 24-hour use next year, nor will it seek transatlantic services. "We want to be an effective regional airport. We need to work to stimulate traffic in the winter months", the General Manager said. A number of carriers have so far scheduled new seasonal flights to Croatia's second largest city for next year including SAS Scandinavian Airlines, airBaltic, Thomas Cook Airlines, Volotea, Smartwings and Jet2.