Zadar Airport Named Third For Passenger Growth in Europe

According to the Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Industry Connectivity Report 2024, published on July 2, 2024, Zadar Airport is classified as a medium-sized airport (handling 1 to 10 million passengers) and has the third-highest growth rate in Europe.

This growth is measured from the pre-pandemic year 2019, during which traffic at Zadar Airport increased by 108%. In the same category, Tirana leads with a 186% growth, followed by Trapani at 143%. Behind Zadar are Samarkand with a 103% increase and Beauvais with a 78% increase.

The significant rise in passenger numbers at Zadar Airport is largely attributed to Ryanair, which operates a base at the airport in Zemunik and offers 51 routes in its summer 2024 flight schedule. Among these, six routes are new this year, connecting Zadar to Barcelona, Copenhagen, Cork, Košice, Katowice, and Kaunas. Additionally, since this winter, Zadar Airport has, for the first time, been connected year-round to an international destination through a regular route, with Croatia Airlines operating the Zadar-Munich route twice a week.

The director of Zadar Airport, Josip Klišmanić, announced on his LinkedIn profile: “Congratulations to all the employees of Zadar Airport who achieve impressive results year after year with their work and dedication. Thank you all!”

Last year, Zadar Airport set a record with 1,230,000 passengers, and this year they anticipate new records with an estimated increase in traffic to 1.4 million passengers. Current statistics support these predictions, showing an increase in passenger numbers every month compared to 2023, except for March.

Aircraft movements Passengers
2023 2024 Change 2023 2024 Change
January 62 53 -14,52% 1211 1549 + 27,91%
February 69 71 + 2,90% 1294 1304 + 0,77%
March 147 89 -39,45% 8931 4870 -45,47%
April 353 610 + 72,80% 52977 108357 + 104,54%
May 569 892 + 56,77% 90118 185224 + 105,53%
June 1055 1276 + 20,95% 210957 273099 + 29,46%

Source: Zadar Airport

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