Zagreb Airport announces record number of destinations for 2024

(Photo credit:Josip Škof)

Zagreb, March 29, 2024 – In the summer timetable of 2024, which begins on Sunday, March 31, Zagreb Airport offering new destinations in its network. During the winter timetable 2023/2024, Zagreb Airport recorded 13% more passengers compared to the previous winter timetable, and in 2023, there was an 8% increase compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Results of the winter timetable 2023/2024

Throughout the winter season, Ryanair serving a total of 19 routes from Zagreb. This included the introduction of a new destination: Lanzarote Airport near Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, further enhancing Zagreb’s already diverse flight options. These routes encompassed popular vacation spots like Malta, Malaga in Spain, and Paphos in Greece.

After a four-year hiatus, Greek national carrier Aegean Airlines resumed winter flights by extending its seasonal route between Zagreb and Athens. Additionally, Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines initiated a route from Zagreb to Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul, operating twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, starting from January of this year.

The upward trajectory during the winter season was further bolstered by Croatia’s national airline, Croatia Airlines, which expanded its route between Zagreb and Mostar in the winter flight schedule. Additionally, airlines such as Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, FlyDubai, and Polish LOT ramped up their capacities by offering more frequent flights and utilizing larger aircraft. Turkish Airlines, Air Serbia, and KLM surpassed pre-pandemic traffic levels substantially, increasing the seating capacity to Zagreb Airport by over 50%.

10 new destinations and growth in 2024

Zagreb Airport anticipates traffic growth for the summer season of 2024, driven by the introduction of new routes and expanded capacities on existing ones.

Croatia Airlines is set to inaugurate three new routes from Zagreb in the upcoming summer flight schedule: Stockholm, Berlin, and Tirana. Services to Stockholm and Berlin will commence on May 20th and 21st respectively, operating three flights per week, while the Tirana route is scheduled to launch on June 14th, with two flights per week. These new routes will remain operational until October 25th, marking the end of the summer flight schedule.

Croatia Airlines holds the largest share of traffic at Zagreb Airport compared to all other airlines. It operates year-round direct routes connecting Zagreb with major hub airports in Europe, including London Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Copenhagen, and Vienna. In addition to these destinations, Croatia Airlines will directly connect Zagreb with Barcelona, Mostar, Sarajevo, Skopje, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Pula, and Brač during the summer flight schedule.

New routes to Spain, Italy, and France 

The low-cost carrier Ryanair has announced the launch of five new routes from Zagreb to Alicante, Girona, and Palma de Mallorca in Spain, Marseille in France, and Pisa in Italy for the summer flight schedule in 2024. These new services will commence with the start of the summer flight schedule on March 31 and will operate twice a week. In comparison to 2023, the Irish airline aims to increase its total weekly flights from its Zagreb base by 20 in 2024, thereby connecting the Croatian capital with 30 destinations and offering 105 round-trip flights per week.

(Photo credit:Josip Škof)

The Spanish national carrier Iberia announced the continuation of operations between Zagreb and Madrid from the end of March this year, with a disclosed capacity increase of more than 50% compared to summer of 2023. 

Several airlines have announced capacity expansions in Zagreb. Turkish Airlines intends to boost its flights between Zagreb and Istanbul by 4 per week, resulting in a total of 18 weekly flights, with twice-daily service and even three times daily on select days. Dutch carrier KLM will operate between Zagreb and Amsterdam with larger aircraft. Additionally, both Air France and Lufthansa, the national carriers of France and Germany respectively, plan to significantly increase the number of weekly flights between Zagreb and Paris or Munich. 

Zagreb is also anticipating an increase in flights to Dubai and Doha. FlyDubai has revealed plans for daily flights on the Zagreb-Dubai route, adding 2 weekly flights. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways, the national carrier of Qatar, intends to operate 10 weekly flights to Doha from the start of the summer flight schedule, representing a growth of 3 weekly flights compared to the initial part of the summer season in 2023.

The Reintroduction of a Direct Route to Seoul

After a five-year hiatus, Zagreb will once again be connected by a direct route to Seoul. T’way Air, a new airline from South Korea, will operate this route. Notably, Zagreb marks T’way Air’s inaugural European destination! T’way Air will provide service from Seoul to Zagreb three times a week, running from May 16 to October 26. The flights will be operated using Airbus A330-300 aircraft, boasting a total capacity of 347 seats.

The Canadian airline Air Transat has disclosed plans for an earlier commencement of operations and an extra rotation on a weekly basis compared to 2023. The direct route between Zagreb and Toronto will be established from early May to early October, featuring up to 4 weekly flights during the peak season. The flights will be conducted on Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering a total capacity of 345 seats.

With all the newly announced routes, Zagreb is anticipated to be linked to a record-breaking total of 66 destinations in 2024 – 6 domestic and 60 internationals. This expansion is projected to result in double-digit growth in the number of passengers transported. Throughout the summer season of 2024, a total of 20 airlines will operate scheduled flights at Zagreb Airport: Aegean, Air France, Air Serbia, Air Transat, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, FlyDubai, Iberia, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, Norwegian Air, Pegasus Airlines, Qatar Airways, Ryanair, Trade Air, Turkish Airlines and T’way Air. 

(Photo credit:Josip Škof)

Highest Ratings Provided by Passengers

Zagreb Airport has consistently been recognized for its service excellence, achieving awards for the seventh consecutive year since the inauguration of its new passenger terminal. In March 2024, it was honoured with the esteemed ACI World award (Airport Service Quality Award in Europe) in the category Easiest Airport Journey in Europe. Furthermore, the airport’s inclusion in the exclusive club of airports – the ACI World Director General’s Roll of Excellence 2023 – underscores its exceptional performance. Presently, only 8 airports worldwide hold this prestigious recognition.