Several airlines are already preparing for a bumper 2016 season in Croatia.
In the latest in a string of 2016 flights announcements to Croatia, both Aer Lingus and Aegean Airlines will be significantly increasing their schedules to the Adriatic coast, reports Aerocroatia on October 3, 2015.
Both airlines are building on the success of recently introduced routes, with Aer Lingus increasing their Dublin to Pula route to three times a week after the route launch in 2014. The addition of Aer Lingus to Pula is one example of the airport’s successful diversification after it was hit badly by Russian visa restrictions when Croatia joined the EU in July 2013 – Russian tourist had hitherto been the number one visitors to the airport, and some 40% of passenger traffic was lost with the new visa rules. The increased route will also be good news for Irish tourists, who are attracted to the Adriatic coast, but for whom direct connections are hard to come by.
Further south in Dubrovnik, another route introduced this year – Aegean Airways from Athens – has clearly been a success, as the Greek carrier has announced that it will commence its 6-weekly service a full two months earlier in 2016 than it did in its inaugural year.
With Croatia’s Adriatic airports breaking records this summer, could 2016 take passenger traffic to an even higher level?
