May 10, 2020 – As Croatia Airlines readies to resume domestic services within the country from tomorrow, how will this summer look in international travel for the national airline?
Ex Yu Aviation reports that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Croatia Airlines to downsize some of its operations, which makes us wonder what routes in its international network will return. Because it’s been said that the border with Slovenia should open on June 1, it’s safe to assume some international services could kick in from then, too.
While they haven’t announced a date for the resumption of international travel, Croatia Airlines had previously said it has three different plans, depending on how COVID-19 progresses. “Croatia Airlines will be the first carrier to bring tourists to Croatia and enable the country’s connectivity to the world. We will start with domestic operations first. In terms of international flights, we currently have three active strategies, of which each has several sub-strategies, on how to resume services. Routes with healthy point-to-point demand and some transfer traffic will be prioritized,” said Krešimir Mlinar, the airline’s Director for Network and Revenue Management,
Currently, Croatia Airlines’ only operating international service is to Frankfurt, while this year’s new routes to Zagreb to Sofia and Podgorica have been canceled. Ex Yu Aviation adds that we can expect that seasonal flights from Zagreb to Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo and Tel Aviv will also be temporarily suspended, though anything is possible.
Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that Croatia Airlines would participate in creating “air bridges” to specific European markets, bringing foreign tourists to the country in the peak summer months. Talks are being held with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
The German Federal Tourism Commissioner said that people might be able to travel abroad soon so long as the situation stays under control, and Italy’s Prime Minister shared the same sentiment. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, did not want to jump to any conclusions until the beginning of June.
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