April the 16th, 2025 – Zagreb Airport has reason to celebrate as it records its busiest March in history. Continued growth is also expected.
As Sinisa Malus/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Zagreb Airport had successfully served 315,323 passengers in March, marking an increase of 4.8% compared to the same month in 2024. The number of aircraft movements increased by 2.8% to 3,922.
zagreb airport records its busiest march with 60,000 more passengers
During the first quarter of 2025, Zagreb Airport served 856,966 passengers, which represents a 7.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, or an additional 61,216 passengers. Growth will continue throughout the month of April with the current planned capacity being 14.7% higher than last year, according to Ex-Yu Aviation News.
Zagreb Airport expects continued traffic growth and an expansion of its destination network, putting Zagreb on the map of attractive destinations for travellers from all over the world.
ryanair contributes the most, followed by aegean, lot, lufthansa and more
Looking first at the increase in traffic in the winter flight schedule for 2024/2025, it’s more than clear that the popular Irish carrier Ryanair contributed the most, connecting Zagreb with an impressive 22 destinations. Aegean Airlines, the Greek national airline, increased the number of frequencies on the Zagreb-Athens route, while Pegasus Airlines, the Turkish low-cost airline, further strengthened the connection between Zagreb and Istanbul, more specifically with Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Germany’s Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Air France and the Dutch KLM also contributed to this growth trend by using larger aircraft on their routes.
Croatia Airlines, despite its issues, also played a significant role in the year-round connection of Croatia with Europe and the world, contributing to the development of the economy and tourism. The national carrier announced the opening of new routes to Milan, Prague, Bucharest, Madrid and Hamburg for the summer flight schedule of 2025, with three flights per week from the beginning of July to the end of October.
In addition, it will increase the number of frequencies on its existing lines to Barcelona and Tirana, while flights to Berlin and Stockholm in this year’s summer flight schedule began at the end of March.
ryanair continues to dominate its zagreb base
It’s safe to say that opting to have a base at Zagreb Airport has been an incredibly wise decision for the Irish air carrier. Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, continues to strengthen its presence in Zagreb. It also launched a new route to Palermo on March the 30th, with three flights scheduled per week.
It also plans to increase the number of weekly flights on existing routes to destinations such as Milan, Rome, Malta, Brussels, Palma de Mallorca and Frankfurt Hahn. The route to Memmingen, which was previously seasonal, will now operate year-round.
turkish airlines, klm, air france and lufthansa step up
Turkish Airlines plans to increase the number of flights between Zagreb and Istanbul to 24 per week during the peak summer season, introducing up to four flights per day on certain days. KLM will use larger aircraft on its route to Amsterdam, while Air France and Lufthansa both plan to increase their number of weekly flights and use larger aircraft on their respective routes to Paris and Frankfurt.
Zagreb Airport may have just recorded its busiest March on record, but it seems the staggering figures aren’t set to stop there. Throughout 2025, Zagreb Airport will be connected to an impressive 70 destinations: six domestic and 64 international. A total of 20 airlines will operate from the airport.
an increase in spanish interest…
Last year, routes to Spain from the Croatian capital were particularly lively. Zagreb Airport was connected to a record seven cities across Spain last year, with a total of 238,715 passengers travelling between Zagreb capital and the popular Mediterranean tourist country.
The growth in connections between them has been driven almost entirely by Ryanair, which flies five of the seven routes, with three added last year alone – Palma de Mallorca, Girona and Alicante. Malaga remains the most popular destination of all, followed by Madrid, which is operated seasonally by Iberia. Croatia Airlines is the smallest of the three carriers operating between the two markets, operating seasonal flights to Barcelona.
Services between Zagreb and Spain will expand further this year. Croatia Airlines is introducing new seasonal flights to Madrid three times a week from the 1st of July, and will also increase its frequency to Barcelona from three to four flights per week between July and October. Ryanair is doubling its frequencies to Palma de Mallorca from two to four per week this summer, while Malaga is planning an additional weekly service for a total of five rotations. Frequencies between Zagreb Airport and Spain will peak in August with around thirty weekly operations.
