Zagreb Airport

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Franjo Tuđman Zagreb) or Zagreb Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Zagreb) (IATA: ZAG, ICAO: LDZA) is an international airport serving Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest and busiest airport in Croatia. In 2022 it handled 3.12 million passengers and some 11,528 tons of cargo.

"ZAG" redirects here. For other uses, see ZAG (disambiguation).

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport

Zračna luka Franjo Tuđman Zagreb
Summary
Airport typePublic/Military
OwnerGroupe ADP
OperatorMZLZ d.d.
ServesZagreb
LocationVelika Gorica, Croatia
Hub forCroatia Airlines
Focus city forRyanair
Elevation AMSL353 ft / 108 m
Coordinates45°44′35″N 016°04′08″E
Websitezagreb-airport.hr
Map
LDZA is located in Croatia
LDZA
LDZA
Location in Croatia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 3,252 10,669 Concrete/asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Number of passengers3,124,605Increase 122.47%
Aircraft movements42,310 Increase 42.91%

Named after Franjo Tuđman, the first President of Croatia, the airport is located some 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Zagreb Central Station[1] in Velika Gorica. It is the hub of the Croatian flag carrier Croatia Airlines and a focus city for Trade Air. The main base of the Croatian Air Force is also located at the airport's premises. Moreover, the Croatian Air Traffic Control has its administration situated on the grounds of the airport.

History

The history of Zagreb civil aviation began in 1909 when the first airfield was built close to the western city neighbourhood (city district) of Črnomerec.

With the creation of the first Yugoslav flag carrier Aeroput in 1927, the airport was relocated to the Borongaj airfield in 1928 which began serving the ever-growing number of passengers on 15 February of that year. Although several European airliners connected the city, it was mostly Aeroput which connected Zagreb to major destinations across Europe and thus significantly increased traffic at Zagreb in the period preceding the Second World War.

Following World War II, commercial services were moved to a former military airbase near the village of Lučko south-west of the city in 1947. JAT Yugoslav Airlines took the role of Aeroput and made Zagreb its second hub. At its peak in 1959, Lučko served 167,000 passengers.

The current location of the airport at Pleso in the south-east of Lučko opened in 1962 with a 2,500 m (8,200 ft) long runway and 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) terminal. By 1966, Zagreb Airport got a new 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art passenger terminal. The runway capacity was lengthened to its current 3,252 m (10,669 ft) in 1974.

In the 1980s, Zagreb Airport was the second largest in Yugoslavia by passenger and aircraft movements. Yugoslav flag-carrier JAT maintained a hub in Zagreb and connected the city to numerous destinations. For instance, it offered nonstop flights to New York City aboard McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.[2] These services inevitably had a major impact on air traffic at Zagreb during that period.

On 31 August 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, the airport became the scene of fighting between Croatian armed forces and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) when a Boeing 707 chartered by Anton Kikaš carrying weapons for the Croatians was forced to land there by Yugoslav MiGs. Croatian forces attacked the control tower and blocked roads in and out of the airport, but the JNA successfully seized the 707 and flew it out of the airport.[3][4] The airport later became a UN hub for getting food and medical supplies to war-ridden Croatia and Bosnia. The British 24th Field Ambulance were stationed in a former JNA camp at the airport.

Following an increase in passenger numbers and the necessity to upgrade its infrastructure, the airport installed a CAT-IIIb instrument landing system (ILS) in 2004.

In 2008, a new VIP terminal was added and the terminal was extended to include extra amenities, restaurants and bars. The terminal was expanded to 15,500 m2 (167,000 sq ft).[5]

By 2010, the old terminal was nearing its maximum annual capacity. That year the passenger terminal received a major facelift in the course of which a viewing platform with a bar was added.

On 12 April 2012, the ZAIC consortium received a 30-year concession for the airport from the Government of Croatia. The consortium consists of Groupe ADP (21%), Bouygues Bâtiment International (21%), Marguerite Fund (21%), International Finance Corporation (17%), TAV Airports (15%) and Viadukt (5%). The concession includes financing, designing and constructing a new passenger terminal. The construction of a brand new 70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft) terminal facility designed by Neidhardt architects of Zagreb and carried out by Bouygues Bâtiment International in partnership with Viadukt began on 18 December 2013 with the aim to replace the old terminal. It now has an initial annual capacity of 5.5 million passengers in the first phase and was officially completed in October 2016. The official inauguration of the terminal was on 28 March 2017. ZAIC now operates the entire airport, including the runways, passenger terminal, cargo terminal, car parks and future property developments, under a 30-year concession. This contract involves a total investment of around €324 million: €236 million for the design and construction of the new terminal and €88 million for operation of all airport infrastructure for the entire period of the concession.[6][7]

On 27 February 2020, the runway, formerly designated as 05/23, was redesignated to 04/22 due to the change in magnetic declination.[8]

On 30 March 2021, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced the opening of a new base in Zagreb commencing July 2021. The airline will be basing three Airbus A320-200 aircraft and start flights to 26 previously unserved destinations.[9]

Operations

The airport was awarded to the ZAIC consortium (Zagreb Airport International Company) in a 30-year concession under the terms of a contract signed by the Government of Croatia with the aforementioned. The contract includes the financing, designing and construction of a new passenger terminal which was opened in March 2017. For the purpose of managing the airport, ZAIC registered a company called MZLZ d.d. (Međunarodna zračna luka Zagreb d.d.) that is now the operator of the Airport.

Terminal
Departures area

The current terminal building was opened to the public on 28 March 2017.[10] It stretches over 65,800 m2 (708,000 sq ft) on three levels featuring four baggage carousels, 8 air bridges, 9 security checkpoints, 45 check-in desks, 23 passport control booths and a car park with the capacity of 1,250 vehicles. Furthermore, the new apron has three remote stands next to the terminal, while 23 stands at the old passenger building are also used during the peak season. Each of the aircraft parking positions at the facility includes a visual docking guidance system which gives information to a pilot on how to park their aircraft. The terminal itself features a large 600 square metre duty-free shop operated by Aelia, 16 cafés, bars, restaurants and snack bars as well as 12 retail stores.

Enough space has been left for 30 additional check-in counters and 2 baggage carousels to be added once the new terminal reaches its current maximum capacity of 5 million passengers. Further extensions envisaged along the thirty-year concession period will potentially see expanding current apron from present 100,000 to 300,000 m2 (1,100,000 to 3,200,000 sq ft) and terminal capacity increased to 8 million through gradual expansion of the terminal in four Phase 2 expansions.[11][12][13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens[14]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Serbia Belgrade
Air Transat Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Austrian Airlines Vienna
British Airways London–Heathrow
Croatia Airlines Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Mostar, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pula, Rome–Fiumicino, Sarajevo, Skopje, Split, Vienna, Zadar, Zurich
Seasonal: Athens, Barcelona,[15] Brač, Tel Aviv[16]
Eurowings Cologne/Bonn,[17] Düsseldorf,[18] Stuttgart
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki[19]
flydubai Dubai–International[20]
Iberia Seasonal: Madrid
KLM Amsterdam
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen[21]
Qatar Airways Doha
Ryanair[22] Basel/Mulhouse, Beauvais, Bergamo, Charleroi, Dublin, Eindhoven, Gothenburg, Hahn, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, London–Stansted, Málaga,[23] Malta,[23] Memmingen, Naples, Paphos, Rome–Fiumicino, Sandefjord, Weeze
Seasonal: [24] Brindisi,[25] Corfu,[24] Kos,[26] Lanzarote (begins 4 November 2023),[27] Malmö, Manchester, Thessaloniki, Podgorica, Sofia
Sun d'Or Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Trade Air Osijek[28]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Vueling Seasonal: Barcelona

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation[29] Leipzig/Halle
MNG Airlines[30] Istanbul, Paris–Charles de Gaulle

Ground transportation

ZAG can be reached from the city centre by scheduled local bus services (No. 290) operated by ZET[31] or scheduled coach services operated by Croatia Airlines' subsidiary Pleso Prijevoz.[32]

Statistics

Traffic figures
Annual passenger traffic at ZAG airport. See Wikidata query.
Traffic at Zagreb Airport[33]
Year Passengers Passenger %
Change		 Aircraft movements Aircraft movements%
Change		 Cargo (tonnes) Cargo %
Change
2011 2,319,098 11.95Increase 42,360 6.40Increase 8,012 1.77Decrease
2012 2,342,309 1.00Increase 39,084 7.80Decrease 8,133 1.51Increase
2013 2,300,231 1.80Decrease 36,874 5.58Decrease 7,699 5.34Decrease
2014 2,430,971 5.68Increase 38,348 4.00Increase 8,855 15.01Increase
2015 2,587,798 6.45Increase 39,854 3.93Increase 9,225 4.18Increase
2016 2,766,087 6.89Increase 40,796 2.36Increase 10,074 9.20Increase
2017 3,092,047 11.78Increase 41,585 1.93Increase 11,719 11.75Increase
2018 3,336,310 7.89Increase 43,688 5,06Increase 13,676 16.71Increase
2019 3,435,531 2.97Increase 45,061 3.14Increase 12,881 5.8Decrease
2020 924,823 73.08Decrease 21,510 52.26Decrease 9,852 22.33Decrease
2021 1,404,478 51,86Increase 29,605 37,63Increase 10,834 9,97Increase
2022 3,124,605 122,47Increase 42,310 42,91Increase 11,372 4,96Increase
2023 (Jan-Sep) 2,817,468 22.38Increase 34,255 8.8Increase 8.044 6.53Decrease

Passenger numbers
2023[34]
Month Passengers Change (2023-2019) Change (2023-2022) Passengers cumulatively
January 221,747 Increase 15.6% Increase 58.2% 221,747
February 208,469 Increase 15.1% Increase 40.1% 430,216
March 264,740 Increase 13.6% Increase 34.9% 694,956
April 322,039 Increase 14.5% Increase 25.9% 1,016,995
May 329,498 Increase 5.8% Increase 24.2% 1,346,493
June 347,019 Increase 3.1% Increase 18.5% 1,693,512
July 369,493 Increase 0.9% Increase 12.2% 2,063,005
August 383,618 Increase 2% Increase 10.1% 2,446,623
September 370,845 Increase 5.9% Increase 14% 2,817,468
October — — — —
November — — — —
December — — — —

Acknowledgements
  • 2022 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award in 3 categories:[35]
    • Best Airport of 2 to 5 million Passengers in Europe
    • Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff in Europe
    • Easiest Airport Journey in Europe

References
  1. "EUROCONTROL – The European AIS Database: Introduction to EAD Basic – Home". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. "JAT Timetable". Winter 1983–1984. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. Compiled From Agencies (1 September 1991). "Serbia Accepts Plan For Observers From European Community". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 39. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  4. Jovicic, Mille (2011). Two Days Till Peace A Sarajevo Airport Story. AuthorHouse. p. 65. ISBN 9781456748371. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. "Međunarodna zračna luka Zagreb – Zagreb International Airport – Naslovna". Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  6. Vlada Republike Hrvatske: Potpisan Ugovor o koncesiji za izgradnju Archived 1 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Croatian) 11 April 2012
  7. "Zagreb International Airport". Groupe ADP. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  8. "New marking and signage on the Franjo Tudjman airport". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  9. "Ryanair To Open Its New Zagreb Base Two Months Earlier Than Planned Due To Strong Demand". corporate.ryanair.com. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. "Structure of the new Zagreb airport passenger terminal" (PDF) – via Hrčak. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Nešto o pregovorima s Francuzima, Nizozemskoj bolesti i gospodinu Petitu, bacanju papira i vremenu od travnja 2012. godine do prosinca 2013. godine. – Siniša Hajdaš Dončić". Siniša Hajdaš Dončić (in Croatian). 18 March 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  12. "Grand opening of the new passenger terminal of Franjo Tuđman Airport". Zagreb Airport. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  13. "Zagreb International Airport's New Terminal – Airport Technology". Airport Technology. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  14. "Aegean Airlines S19 service expansions as of 31AUG18". Routesonline. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  15. "Croatia Airlines uvodi liniju prema Barceloni". croatianaviation. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  16. "Croatia ipak nastavalja letove za Tel Aviv". zamaaero.com. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  17. "Eurowings uvodi još jednu liniju prema Zagrebu!". croatianaviation.com. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  18. "Eurowings downgrades Belgrade, Zagreb service". exyuaviation.com. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  19. "Finnair delays and reduces Zagreb operations".
  20. "Emirates and flydubai come together to offer customers seamless travel options to Zagreb this winter". emirates.com. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  21. "Norwegian za ljeto najavljuje 16 linija prema Hrvatskoj!". croatianaviation.com. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  22. "Ryanair Announces New Base In Zagreb". corporate.ryanair.com. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  23. "Ryanair Opens Its Zagreb Base & Launches Winter '21 Schedule". Ryanair corporate news. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  24. "Ryanair najavio nove linije iz Hrvatske za sljedeće ljeto!". croatianaviation.com. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  25. "Ryanair uvodi novu liniju iz Zagreba". Croatianaviation. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  26. "Ryanair to launch new Zagreb service".
  27. https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/09/ryanair-adds-new-zagreb-service.html
  28. "Trade Air domestic routes".
  29. aviationcargo.dhl.com retrieved 9 March 2022
  30. "Flight history for MNG Airlines flight MB551". Flightradar24. 10 December 202. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  31. "How to get from Zagreb Airport". Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  32. "Pleso Prijevoz timetable". Pleso prijevoz. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  33. "Statistics – Naslovna". MZLZ. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  34. "Zagreb Airport 2023".
  35. "Zagreb named best 2 to 5 million passenger airport in Europe". croatiaweek.com. 6 March 2023.

Media related to Zagreb Airport at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.