TCN looks at the plans and expectations for Croatian airports in 2019, beginning with Zagreb.
Lidija Capković Martinek, Public Relations for the Zagreb airport, explains for AvioRadar on February 20, 2019:
“Let us start by pointing out that Franjo Tudjman airport continues to record an increase in the number of passengers, a total of 3% in the last five years. In the same period, there are 15 new airline companies in Zagreb, and intense negations with many carriers to open new destinations, but for the sake of confidentiality, we are unable to provide more information at this time.
According to announcements for the 2019 summer flight schedule, some airline companies in Zagreb will use larger aircraft, offering more seats, and some companies have increased the frequency of flights coming to Zagreb or have extended the season. An overview of the increase below:
1. Air Transat (Toronto) – another weekly flight added
2. Iberia (Madrid) – capacity increase
3. Vueling (Barcelona) – capacity increase
4. Aegean Airlines (Athens) – another weekly flight added
5. Air Serbia (Belgrade) – another weekly flight added
6. LOT (Warsaw) – capacity increase
7. Eurowings (Dusseldorf) – capacity increase
8. Croatia Airlines (Dublin) – another weekly flight added
9. Croatia Airlines – seasonal lines beginning 15 days earlier
Following the record number of passengers in 2017 and 2018, we continue to grow in 2019, and we expect to continue this trend by the end of the year, with an increase of about 5% in passenger traffic and 3% in operations.
As far as planned investments are concerned, it should be noted that Zagreb airport continuously prepares for each season with various projects to further modernize operational processes and capacity expansion, following the planned annual activities. For example, in the spring of last year, we started the process of increasing the luggage sorting tracks and the installation of an additional fourth luggage track on the ground floor of the passenger terminal, which is scheduled to open in March this year. We are working on constructing a parking lot for airport equipment, with a total area of 6,000 square meters, preparations are complete for a satellite firefighting position near the east apron, and developments are underway for additional passenger counters on the second floor of the terminal.
In 2017, preparatory works for the entry of Croatia into Schengen were made according to the request of the Ministry of Interior and a study was prepared for adapting the passenger terminal to the new processes.
The financial results will be published in the consolidated annual report. What we can point out is that Zagreb airport has paid nearly 200 million kuna in concessions to the state budget over the past six years and its contractual obligations were executed neatly. The final report will be in line with the expectations and plans for growth and successful business. With the increase in traffic that we continuously record, we have also increased the number of employees, so in 2018, we brought in 48 new employees, bringing the total number to 820.
For the sake of completeness, we would like to point out that passengers recognize the efficiency of all airport services, as shown in the survey results of the ACI ASQ, which the airport conducts quarterly. According to the research conducted in 2018, Zagreb airport was declared the best in the group of European airports ranging from 2 to 5 million passengers in 10 categories, and some of them include:
– Staff efficiency when checking in for a flight
– Kindness and adaptability of security personnel
– Safety
– Cleanliness
– Passport control and Customs control services.”
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