February 28, 2019 – TCN continues looking at the plans and expectations for Croatian airports in 2019, with updates from Brač airport.
AvioRadar spoke with Brač airport director, Tonči Peović, to find out what 2019 has in store.
“In 2019, we expect about 32,000 passengers. The plan is less ambitious than last year’s increase, given that LuxAir decided to operate with a larger plane, which Brač airport cannot currently receive. Likewise, we also do not have SkyWork, which, as you know, went bankrupt, though it did not significantly affect passenger traffic last year. This year, we have a SkyUp flight from Kiev that has not yet been confirmed, and we are negotiating with LOT. Despite this, we plan to use 2019 to complete the project documentation for extending the runway and reconstructing the passenger building and run the project for EU funds.
We expect about 1,700 commercial aircraft operations and about 1,500 general aviation operations. Revenues are planed at 6,700,000 kuna. Expenditures are expected at 5,900,000 kuna, with a correction of the price of labor by +5%, and plans to achieve a profit of 750,000 kuna.
As I have noted, the final phase of the second phase of extending and expanding the runway is currently underway, from the current 1,760 x 30 m to 2,400 x 45 m. This basic infrastructure is being prepared for the fleet of airplanes most represented in tourist flights, such as category D including the A320, B737 and 738. The airport will also change to ecologically efficient LED lights. Additional layers of asphalt are also in the plans to increase the PCN to 50, given that the current track is below the required ACN for future aircraft.
The second part of the project envisages the reconstruction of the terminal in such a way that the reorganization of the existing space will be made to accept 1,000 passengers in the peak hour, as defined by the maximum capabilities of the platform for accommodating three aircraft with the estimated number of incoming passengers at around 500.
The reconstruction of the passenger building implies the application of new technologies for receiving and dispatching, following Annex 19 of the ICAO.
The use of biometric border controls is planned for Schengen and non-Schengen zones, while we intend to ensure the luggage delivery of charter flight passengers directly to the hotel.
Baggage review checks will be performed by a centralized standard X-ray of 3 for ECAC.
As far as equipment for receiving and dispatching aircraft, we believe that all equipment will be powered without greenhouse gas emissions, while we plan to procure hard mechanics (push-back, GPU) and biodiesel engines. All of these guidelines have already been set out in EU politics, and we are planning to adapt to the established policies.
The value of the investment is between 12 to 18 million euro, and we will have the project prepared for EU funding by mid-2019.
The most strategic partner for our extended runway is TUI, though Titan Airways, Thomas Cook, ASL Airlines, Eurowings, Air Serbia, SAS, JET2.COM, Flybe and Blue Air have shown great interest.
We plan to finish the project by May 2021.”
To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
