Croatia Air Traffic: Preparations for Summer 2025

Expanding the airline service:

Croatia is always trying to improve and expand its services so that travelers who come from all over the world have the best possible experience while visiting. This very much includes air travel.The Croatian Aviation Agency is already trying to make more connections so that the offering for 2025 is even more robust, even more direct lines and international flights. For example Play Airlines, a major North American airline that operates from Toronto, Washington, Boston, New York and many other major North American cities, has already made a commitment to organize flights five days a week to Pula for the summer season of 2025. 

‍Total Croatia and Poslovni Dnevnik have both reported that Croatia Airlines efforts to improve and expand its operations this summer by increasing frequencies on selected routes. The company is also starting to use the Airbus A220 aircraft with a much larger capacity to increase the number of passengers that it services on a daily basis. For the upcoming summer season, Croatia Airlines is set to launch five new routes from Zagreb Airport. As part of this expansion, the airline intends to increase its weekly departures from Croatia by 27 to 33 flights between April and October. This growth will contribute an additional 7,900 to 9,900 outbound seats per week throughout the season. Croatian Aviation also reports that the summer flight schedule will have a total of 18,200 flights which is 7% more compared to the same period in 2024. This will be followed by an 18% increase in seating as well. 

Ryanair: plans for summer 2025

While Croatia Airlines is still very much the premiere airline company in Croatia, its contender Ryanair is always present. The Irish based airline is on a continuous upwards trajectory because of their fantastic service and cheap prices. Since they have established their base in Zagreb, they have become a major player in Croatia’s ever growing air traffic. Ryanair has established extensive connections between Zagreb's airport and numerous destinations across Europe, offering an affordability and convenience that few other airlines can match.

Ryanair has unveiled new flight routes from Croatia, adding connections to both Poland and France, with further expansions expected. Additionally, direct flights between Belgrade and several Croatian coastal destinations are scheduled to begin this summer. This year, some seasonal routes will restart earlier than usual. The Zagreb–Berlin and Zagreb–Stockholm flights, originally launched on May 20 last year, will resume on April 1 and April 2, respectively. Likewise, flights between Zagreb and Tirana will be back on May 25, ahead of the previously planned June 14 restart. 

Croatian Aviation also reports that Ryanair is  set to introduce a new seasonal route from Zagreb in a month, marking its fifth connection to Italy. This new route will link Zagreb with Palermo and will begin operating on Sunday, March 30. Flights will run throughout the summer schedule until October 23, with services available three times a week. Over the course of the summer season, the airline plans 90 rotations on this route, offering more than 32,000 seats to travelers, ensuring ample availability to meet demand. All of these facts clearly prove that the 2025 preparations are well under way. While Croatia has clearly moved to being a year-round destination, basically having high air traffic all the time, expectations for the summer are even higher. It is clear that we are in for another record-breaking summer season.

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