Rise in Passengers Cheers Zagreb Airport

In the second month of 2013, Croatia’s busiest airport welcomed 126,727 passengers, an increase of 7.3 per cent compared to last year’s 118,133 passengers.

The passenger growth comes on the back of an increased number of flights being operated to Zagreb.

A total of 1,315 departures and arrivals were registered, up 4.4 per cent on the same month last year. So far in 2013, the airport has welcomed 266,124 passengers, representing an increase of 6.3 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Zagreb Airport will hope that the strong run will continue into the summer. During the summer season the airport won’t be welcoming new airlines, but several will be increasing their frequencies.

As has become tradition, the airport will welcome both JAL and Korean Air, which will run several charters to the Croatian capital over the summer. On the other hand, SkyWork Airlines will be cutting its frequencies from Bern while Lufthansa has decided against a planned frequency increase on the Berlin - Zagreb service due to delays in the construction of Berlin’s new airport and limited capacity at Tegel, from which the flights operate.

Meanwhile, the airport has secured a loan from the European Investment Bank for the construction of a new terminal. The loan of 120 million euro is considered vital for the project.

Last week, it was reported that the bank was unwilling to grant the loan, putting the fate of the terminal in danger. The new airport operator is waiting to obtain all the licenses it needs for construction to begin. The terminal is expected to be operational by 2016, while construction should start this September.