According to Eurostat data, there are no big surprises in the top 10 destinations according to the number of transported passengers from and to Zagreb, the order is similar every year without any major changes.
Frankfurt as the number one is connected up to 5 times a day with Zagreb, so it is not surprising that it is in first place with about 266,000 passengers. Frankfurt is the only airport to which more than 200,000 passengers were transported from Zagreb. For travelers from Zagreb, Frankfurt is one of the most important hubs for intercontinental travel and travel to other destinations in Europe. Croatia Airlines flies to Frankfurt three times a day, and Lufthansa, depending on the summer or winter flight schedule.
Amsterdam is in the second place in terms of the number of passengers and it is a similar story to Frankfurt, a very important hub for intercontinental travel, and the main alternative to Lufthansa and Star Alliance in Zagreb. Amsterdam Airport has internal challenges with the capacity reduction due to workforce challenges, so KLM also reduced the number of flights to Zagreb but remained number two in terms of the number of transported passengers. Croatia Airlines has not reduced or increased the number of flights to Amsterdam and still has one flight per day.
Istanbul is in the third place and is an important hub for travel to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. With the increasing opening of Asian countries, a greater influx of tourists to Croatia is expected, precisely through Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is the only airline flying between Zagreb and Istanbul, and it connects the two cities up to twice a day.
Two domestic destinations were in the top 10 destinations from Zagreb, namely Dubrovnik in the 4th place and Split in the 6th place. This is not surprising because from both destinations the plane is a much faster alternative to a car or land public transport.
The fifth place is Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport with around 145,000 passengers transported on that route, and along with Amsterdam it is an important hub for airlines from the Sky Team airline association. Air France connects Zagreb and Paris once a day, and so does Croatia Airlines. The arrival of Ryanair and the connection of Zagreb with Beauvais airport opened up additional competition on the route to Paris.
London is in the seventh and ninth place, with 108,000 passengers transported to Heathrow and about 100,000 to Stansted, and is proof that London is a very important hub (Heathrow), a tourist destination, and a destination for many workers who work in the United Kingdom. Together, both airports have over 200,000 transported passengers from Zagreb, and if we were to observe only the cities and numbers of passengers, London would be in the second place. In Zagreb, Ryanair managed to reach Stansted in the top 10 destinations according to the number of transported passengers, and it is the number one “low-cost” route from Zagreb.
Munich and Vienna, which are in the 8th and 10th place, can be put in a common group and described very simply – an alternative to Frankfurt.
In 2023, according to current announcements, there will be no big surprises in Zagreb’s top 10, possibly minor changes in positions are possible.
