Croatia Airlines started connecting Dubrovnik directly with European destinations this season
Croatia’s flag carrier planning international flights from Dubrovnik to 6 international destinations
21st May 2021, Dubrovnik
Today’s OU419 flight on the Frankfurt-Dubrovnik route was the first flight of Croatia Airlines, with which Croatia’s flag carrier began to connect Dubrovnik directly with international destinations during this year’s tourist season.
On this year’s first international flight to Dubrovnik operated by Croatia Airlines, 47 passengers arrived in Dubrovnik, all of whom received a discount voucher redeemable against their next purchase of Croatia Airlines air tickets. After Croatia Airlines’ Airbus 319 aircraft landed at Dubrovnik Airport, the passengers were welcomed by representatives of Croatia’s flag carrier, Dubrovnik Airport, and the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, when Slaven Žabo, Commercial Division Director at Croatia Airlines, highlighted the following:
– We’re glad that, today, we’ve started connecting Dubrovnik directly with international destinations this season, providing passengers from the Dubrovnik-Neretva County with direct connections to the world, while contributing to the quality of the tourism product of both the City of Dubrovnik and Croatia’s southernmost county. If we bear in mind that Dubrovnik is connected with Zagreb all year round via scheduled domestic flights, I believe that, being Croatia’s flag carrier, we meet passenger expectations, confirming our importance in the transport infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia as a whole – said Slaven Žabo.
– The airport’s many years of previous experience show that scheduled international flights on the Frankfurt-Dubrovnik route are, by far, the most important international flights for our region. Looking forward to the end of the pandemic, we’re very pleased that Croatia Airlines has resumed flights on this route. We’re hoping to see these flights sold out, given that Frankfurt Airport is one of Europe’s main hubs, from where extremely affordable and fast connections with many airports are available, airports from which many of our guests have been flying to Dubrovnik for years. Considering that tourism is the most important economic sector of the Dubrovnik Riviera, we’re convinced that, following last year’s extreme challenges, the recovery of both air traffic and tourism will be rapid, which we’re very much looking forward to – said Frano Luetić, Managing Director at Dubrovnik Airport.
– The launch of direct flights from our emitting markets is of paramount importance for Dubrovnik because Dubrovnik’s primarily an air destination. Given that the public health situation has improved and that vaccination’s been picking up speed, Dubrovnik is both ready and looking forward to a successful tourist season. We’re also looking forward to continuing our successful collaboration with Croatia Airlines. We hope that the conditions for the restoration of year-round flights on the Dubrovnik-Frankfurt route will soon be created – said Ana Hrnić, Dubrovnik Tourist Board Director.
It is worth recalling that, in 2019, Croatia Airlines, the City of Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, and Dubrovnik Airport started working in close cooperation, within the framework of which Croatia’s flag carrier flew on the Dubrovnik-Frankfurt route throughout the entire year, and that more than 50,000 passengers flew on these flights in 2019.
Looking to continue contributing to the development of tourism capacities of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia Airlines is planning to connect Dubrovnik directly with six European destinations during the summer season, from where connecting flights to destinations around the world are available to passengers. Besides flights on the Dubrovnik-Frankfurt route, in June the company is planning to successively introduce direct international flights from Dubrovnik to Athens, Munich, Paris, Rome, and Zurich. Flight frequency and the date of introduction of these routes and destinations will depend on current market demand, and the current public health situation in both Croatia and the world.
It is also important to underscore that during the summer months, Croatia Airlines is planning to further expand its network of flights from Zagreb and the company’s Adriatic destinations to European cities. Accordingly, flights are planned to 18 European and 7 Croatian destinations. From Zagreb, Croatia Airlines is looking to operate scheduled international flights to 14 European destinations, and Split Airport should be connected to a total of 12 foreign destinations. Flights from Rijeka to Munich are also planned.
To ensure connectivity and to support the tourism product of the Republic of Croatia as strongly as possible, during the summer season Croatia Airlines is planning to offer over 80,000 seats on flights from European destinations to Croatia. Moreover, in collaboration with many tour operators, more than 200 charter flights are planned from Austria, Italy, Ireland, Israel, and Scandinavia.
Taking all necessary measures to maintain the protection of the health and safety of passengers at the highest possible level, and adhering to all current public health and safety measures, Croatia Airlines is continuing to connect Croatian cities and regions via scheduled domestic traffic between the airports of Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Zadar, Brač, and Pula.