A ceremonial event was held today at Franjo Tuđman Airport to mark the launch of Croatia Airlines’ new seasonal routes, highlighted by the arrival of the first flight from Hamburg. The inaugural flight, operated by an Airbus A220-300 aircraft (registration 9A-CAE), carried 130 passengers, representing a cabin load factor of 87% out of 149 available seats.
The flight from Hamburg marks the beginning of Croatia Airlines’ summer expansion, which includes four new seasonal routes from Zagreb: Bucharest, Milan, Madrid, and Prague. The first flight to Bucharest also took place today, while flights to Milan will begin on July 2, Madrid on July 3, and Prague on July 4. All these routes will operate three times per week – either on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – until the end of the summer season in October 2025.
“The renewal of our fleet with Airbus A220 aircraft has enabled a significant expansion of our destination network from our home base at Zagreb Airport. We’re especially pleased that passengers on these new seasonal routes will get to experience flying on our new aircraft,” said Slaven Žabo, Director of Commercial Affairs at Croatia Airlines.
The ceremony at the airport was attended by diplomatic representatives of the countries where the new routes are being launched – including Germany, Romania, Italy, Spain, and the Czech Republic – as well as representatives from the tourism sector and national and local government authorities.
Support for the network expansion was also expressed by Zagreb International Airport. “Zagreb International Airport welcomes the introduction of new direct Croatia Airlines routes to Hamburg, Prague, Milan, Madrid, and Bucharest in the summer schedule. We congratulate our esteemed partners on expanding their network and look forward to our shared success in the future,” said Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, CEO of Zagreb Airport.
During this year’s tourist season, Croatia Airlines is directly connecting Zagreb with a total of 23 international destinations and Croatia with 30 international destinations, reaching 31 European airports. The national carrier will operate flights on 55 scheduled international routes. The summer timetable includes more than 18,200 flights – a 7% increase compared to 2024 – offering more than 2,260,000 seats, which is an 18% increase over last year.
In the first six months of 2025, Croatia Airlines recorded a preliminary 10% increase in the number of passengers carried compared to the same period last year. In June alone, there was an 11% increase compared to June 2024, further confirming the positive growth trend and strong market interest in the new routes.
The fleet renewal project, the largest in the company’s history, began in 2024 and aims to replace the entire existing fleet by 2027. A total of 15 Airbus A220 aircraft will be integrated into the fleet, with five already in operation. These are state-of-the-art jet aircraft featuring cutting-edge technology and next-generation design.
With the introduction of new routes and fleet modernization, Croatia Airlines continues to fulfill its strategic mission of connecting Croatia with the world and strengthening Zagreb’s position as a competitive European transport and tourism hub.
Photo © AvioRadar (MB)
