May 29, 2020 – The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.
Slobodna Dalmacija reports that Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling announced on Thursday that they would return some flights from Madrid and Barcelona to foreign destinations, including Dubrovnik and Split, from July 1, after those flights were suspended due to the coronavirus.
Since the state of emergency was declared in Spain on March 14, Iberia has only operated foreign flights to London and Paris so that passengers can reach their destinations in an emergency. Tourist travel is banned, and border police check the documents and certificates of those rare foreign passengers at airports.
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But after the Spanish government announced on Monday that it would allow foreign tourists to arrive in the country from July 1, Iberia and Vueling announced the gradual return of their flights.
In July, Iberia will fly between Madrid and Dubrovnik, which will be one of its 15 foreign destinations. It will introduce an additional 28 destinations in Europe and North Africa in August.
“In order to restore customer confidence, we will not charge penalties for changing tickets purchased from today until June 30, for flights until December 31,” Iberia said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.
Iberia also had flights between Madrid and Zagreb and Zadar, but it is unknown at this time what will happen with them. The company did not respond to the inquiry until the news was published.
Iberia’s operations in July and August will be at 21 percent of capacity compared to previously forecast this summer, and in the event of increased demand, capacity could increase to 35 percent.
Flights between Madrid and Split can also be booked via Iberia’s website from July 1, and passengers will be transported by Vueling Airlines.
Iberia and Vueling, in fact, have a joint owner, the company International Airlines Group.
“We can confirm that we will gradually return flights from Barcelona to Dubrovnik and Split from July,” said Vueling’s spokesman Xabier Martinez Serrano.
Flights from Spain to other continents have been suspended until further notice.
“We also plan to return long-haul flights to distant destinations when the situation allows it and when quarantine and travel restrictions are lifted,” Iberia said.
Spain, one of Europe’s most affected countries by the coronavirus, currently has closed borders, so only foreign cross-border workers, aircrew, truck drivers, healthcare professionals and patients ordered for surgery or people with a certificate of emergency entry are allowed to enter the country.
The Spanish government is easing measures of limited population movement through four phases (0 to 3) and trying to bring the country to a “new normal” by the end of June.
The largest and hardest hit cities Madrid and Barcelona are in phase 1 and most of the territories are in phase 2.
Iberia will also increase the number of domestic flights in Spain from July 1, because now its planes fly from Madrid only to the Canary and Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Bilbao and the northern provinces of Asturias and Galicia.
Furthermore, Croatian Aviation announced that Austrian Airlines announced the relaunch of international routes, after all the company’s planes were grounded for almost 90 days.
The establishment of international flights is expected from June 15, and in the first week of operations, Dubrovnik Airport is among the destinations.
Austrian Airlines will fly from June 21 on the Vienna-Dubrovnik route twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays). An A321 aircraft with a capacity of 200 passengers has been announced.
As of June 24, Austrian is introducing the Vienna-Split route, which will run 4 times a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays). A321 aircraft have also been announced on this route.
In a recent statement, the company announced that it would initially operate its routes with smaller capacity aircraft (Embraer 195 / DashQ400), so a change of aircraft type to Dubrovnik and Split is still possible.
Austrian Airlines is currently preparing a flight schedule for July and will be announced soon, it is expected that the company will return the Zagreb-Vienna route in July.
Finally, Croatian Aviation announced that it is re-establishing another international route. From Monday, June 8, Croatia Airlines will fly between Zagreb and Zurich.
From that date, Zagreb and Zurich will be connected four times a week (Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) with a DashQ400 aircraft with a capacity of 76 passengers. As of June 15, daily flights between the largest cities in Switzerland and Croatia are on sale.
The plane will depart from Zagreb at 09:10, the expected arrival in Zurich is at 10:45. The return flight will take off from Zurich at 11:45, and the expected landing in Zagreb is at 13:10.
After June 15, the introduction of several international lines to Croatia is expected, given that the borders of many countries should be opened from that date.
From June 8, Croatia Airlines will operate on international routes from Zagreb to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Zurich, along with domestic routes to Split and Dubrovnik.
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