February the 26th, 2026 – Could Ryanair launch Croatian domestic routes? Already taking the lion’s share of air traffic in Croatia, it seems the popular Irish carrier is far from satisfied yet…
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Dario Topic/VL writes, whether you’ve flown with them for 20 euros with nothing but a rucksack or not, you’ve more than likely heard a million stories about Ryanair. The wildly popular Irish low-cost airline is currently the largest airline in all of Europe and dominates Croatia. It’s known for its unique way of doing business, bringing passengers low (and sometimes incredibly low) prices. Ryanair has recorded profits and an incredible 200 million passengers a year with an even more impressive average cabin load factor of 95%. It’s safe to say that whatever the company is doing – it’s doing it perfectly well.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Ryanair is taking the lion’s share of the pie (or should we say sky) in the Croatian market. They announced that in their upcoming summer flight schedule from March to October, they will base nine aircraft in our country on 118 routes with more than 850 weekly departures on offer, thus offering more than four million seats. The expansion is, however, somewhat slower than in previous years, and the only new routes are from Dubrovnik to Gdansk in Poland and Budapest in Hungary.
Ryanair’s commercial director Jason McGuinness sent a message to the Croatian authorities to make sure they reduce fees if they want to remain competitive. He also commented on unfolding developments across the European aviation market and announced which routes Croatia can expect in the future.
You’ve just announced the largest summer flight schedule ever. Can you briefly let people know in Croatia who are rushing to book air tickets what this will bring them?
It’s great news for Croatia. The most important fact is that this summer, we’ll have 118 destinations on offer from Croatia. For comparison, four or five years ago we only had about 40, which means that now, passengers have an incomparably greater choice. At the same time, this will enable a greater number of tourists from all over Europe to visit Croatia not only during the peak season, but throughout the entire summer. This is exactly what we want to work on with airports and regions – developing our capacities outside of the peak season, which is key to developing year-round tourism and strengthening destinations.
How come there are no new routes from Zagreb Airport?
Don’t worry, there are no problems at all with Zagreb. This season we’re primarily focused on increasing frequencies on existing routes. A good example of that is with London Stansted, which now has 12 flights per week. Over the past five years, we’ve increased the number of routes from around 40 to 118, and we’re now further strengthening our frequencies to provide passengers with greater flexibility and choice.
Dubrovnik will get two new routes, to Budapest and Gdansk, and there is also a base for two of your aircraft there. How important is this for traffic there?
We’re really very pleased with this development. This means that this summer, we’ll have around 25 or 26 routes from Dubrovnik. This is confirmation of the success of not only the Ryanair model, but of our cooperation with Dubrovnik Airport and other stakeholders who have recognised the connectivity problem. Dubrovnik is extremely busy during June, July and August, but there were a lot of connectivity gaps outside the peak season. Ryanair is actively working to resolve this problem and strengthen availability throughout the year.
The Adriatic coast is a highly seasonal market, this applies to Zadar for example. At the same time, turbulent times exist for Ryanair across Europe. You have cut a large number of seats, especially in Germany. Will this affect the Croatian market and Croatian passengers?
I wouldn’t say that these are turbulent times for Ryanair. The situation is actually quite on the contrary, we’ve never had more opportunities for growth. Over the next decade, we’ll take delivery of 300 new Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, with the first 15 expected in early 2027. This is a very exciting period as we plan to grow from 200 to 300 million passengers per year. It’s true that there’s a growing awareness across Europe of the lack of capacities, while Ryanair, on the other hand, is actively expanding its fleet. We clearly reward countries and airports that reduce their fees, and we reduce capacities where costs increase or additional taxes are introduced. Germany, for example, is one of the weakest-recovered aviation markets in Europe, with around 20% less capacities than before the coronavirus pandemic.
What is Germany doing about this?
They’ve reduced their aviation tax, but that’s not really enough. We’ve called on the Germans to abolish those fees completely. Until that happens, Ryanair will not expand its operations in Germany. At the same time, we’re growing strongly in markets such as Poland, where we’re increasing capacity by 20% this year. We’re doing the same in Bratislava and Tirana, where growth is around 60%. In Tirana, for example, we’re opening a base with four aircraft and introducing ten new routes, bringing our total to 40 routes from the Albanian capital. The reason is simple – these markets are actively working to reduce costs and increase competitiveness.
Where does Croatia currently stand on this competitiveness scale?
Croatia is somewhere in the middle and has done a very good job of getting to this level, and these 118 routes confirm this progress. However, the market is extremely competitive and Croatia needs to remain competitive if it wants to continue growing. There are concrete steps that the government can take, such as abolishing the 1.8 euro tax per departing passenger, which no other country has. On top of that, significant funds are being invested in PSO (Public Service Operation) routes with very low occupancy, which shows that they aren’t meeting the real needs of passengers.
Or are they perhaps poorly planned?
The occupancy rate clearly shows the level of demand. Croatia must remain competitive, as Ryanair operates in 40 countries, most of which are actively reducing their costs to attract additional traffic. Competition is fierce and Croatia must continue to work to strengthen its position.
Critics claim that this is pressure on governments, calling it blackmail. What’s your comment on this?
Our goal is to provide information on market conditions. More capacity means lower prices and greater accessibility of travel. Zagreb Airport has long had high prices, while today passengers can fly to London for as little as €29.99. Greater connectivity benefits passengers, tourism and the economy. People want more routes and more choice throughout the year, and we’re totally ready to work with Croatian airports to make this possible.
Could Ryanair launch domestic routes, for example Zagreb – Dubrovnik?
We’re definitely not saying not to this possibility, although it isn’t being currently planned. That said, we’re always ready to discuss it if there is interest. In neighbouring Italy, for example, we have about 130 domestic routes in operation, and we also operate domestic flights in both Spain and Morocco.
What would you advise Croatia and more specifically Croatia Airlines if they want more flights and passengers?
It’s very simple – reduce your prices.
