Zagreb Airport
| Zagreb Airport Zračna luka Zagreb |
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IATA: ZAG – ICAO: LDZA
 ZAG
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | ZLZ | ||
| Serves | Zagreb, Croatia | ||
| Location | Pleso, Croatia | ||
| Hub for | Croatia Airlines | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 353 ft / 108 m | ||
| Coordinates | 45°44′35″N 016°04′08″E / 45.74306°N 16.06889°E | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 05/23 | 10,669 | 3,252 | Concrete/Asphalt |
| Statistics (2011) | |||
| Number of Passengers | 2,319,098 | ||
| Aircraft Movements | 42,360 | ||
| Croatian Aeronautical Information Publication[1] | |||
Zagreb Airport (IATA: ZAG, ICAO: LDZA), also known as Pleso Airport (pronounced [plɛ̂sɔ]) after the nearby suburb of Pleso, is the main international airport of Croatia and also a Croatian Air Force and Defense major fighter jet base. Located 10 km from the central railway station[1] in Zagreb, it served 2,319,098 passengers in 2011 and is the primary hub for Croatian flag carrier Croatia Airlines. Expansion of the airport is due to start in 2012.
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[edit] History
The first airfield in Zagreb was built in 1909 near the western city neighbourhood of Črnomerec. It was used by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala for the airplanes he designed. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made a landing in Borongaj Airfield (east of Zagreb) after his successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The airfield began serving passenger traffic on 15 February 1928. On 1 April 1947, commercial services were moved to a former airbase near the village of Lučko, southwest of the city. At its peak in 1959, Lučko served 167,000 passengers.
On 20 April 1962, flight services were once again moved, this time to the current location near the suburb of Pleso in the southeast. It first opened with a 2,500 m long runway and 1,000 m² terminal. A new 5,000 m² terminal was built in 1966, as well as the apron expansion. In 1974, the runway was extended to its current 3,250 m, and the terminal expanded to its current 12,000 m².
The airport's peak level of traffic was in 2008, with 2.2 million passengers. In 2004, the airport installed a CAT-IIIb instrument landing system (ILS). The VIP terminal was completed in 2008 and is located just south-west of the old terminal, which is also going to be refurbished.
The terminal is being extended by additional 5600sqm, and interior and exterior are being refurbished. The project is due for completion by the end of 2012. The main Terminal building will also extended by additional 45m allowing for greater passenger traffic, but this is only an intermediate measure as by late 2015, a new 67,700sqm Terminal should be completed. Zagreb Airport is expected to reach 3.5 million passengers by 2015 and 5.5 million by 2020.
[edit] Expansion and modernisation
The passenger terminal underwent major design upgrade, new VIP terminal was added to the west of the current terminal in 2008, and new unified facade (at the front of the terminal) was also added in 2009. The passenger terminal has a maximum capacity of around 2.5 million passengers per year with current traffic being around the 2.2 million mark. The main terminal building itself is rather small measuring only 200x58meters or around 20 000 m². Apron or airport ramp measures 950x187meters and can accommodate around 15 medium and 2 wide body aircraft.
A new terminal is planned for the future. The initial plan, made by NACO in 1997, was for 47,000 m² of space, capacity for 11 jetways, and the capability of handling 3 million passengers annually, but the airport authority decided to scrap this plan in favor of a larger terminal.
A new master plan has been developed by Scott Associates in 2006 and the new terminal is now expected to have 12 jetways and a capacity of 3.3 million passengers annually. It will be approximately 65,600 m² in area, nearly five times the size of the current terminal. This plan was also scrapped and a competition was held in hope of an even larger airport.
A competition for the final architectural and urban planning solution took place in August 2009, and the winner (Institut IGH) was declared at the beginning of October. This proposal, designed by Neidhardt architects of Zagreb, includes a retail component with stores, banks, cafes and restaurants. A new luxury hotel with direct underground links to the terminal is planned, directly in front of the new terminal. The new terminal will consist of glass walls and roof in a wavy facade. It will be built in three stages, the first stage being able to cater for over five million passengers. This will increase as the second and third stage opens.
Construction is expected to cost €280 million. Following completion, the old terminal will be used for low-cost operators. Air Force operations will move to the south end of the airport due to the construction. The start of construction is expected to take place in spring 2012 due to cost restraints. Meanwhile the old terminal will have a major face lift and minor expansion expected to cost 6 million euros.
Accompanying the terminal will be a second parallel runway. The completion date is unknown at this stage. There will also be a new rail line alongside the Eastern bypass of Velika Gorica (currently under construction), which extends from Zagreb across the Homeland Bridge completed in 2007. These elements will create an entirely new east entrance into the city adding to the one via D408 state road. The airport is being built in such manner that more expansions can be conducted easily if needed.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
The following scheduled passenger airlines use Zagreb Pleso Airport (as of January 2012):
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Moscow-Sheremetyevo |
| Air France operated by Brit Air |
Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Austrian Airlines | Vienna |
| Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways |
Vienna |
| Croatia Airlines | Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, Istanbul-Atatürk, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Munich, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Podgorica, Pristina, Pula, Rome-Fiumicino, Sarajevo, Skopje, Split, Vienna, Zadar, Zürich Seasonal: Athens, Barcelona, Bol, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion |
| Czech Airlines | Prague |
| easyJet | Dortmund [ends 20 May 2012], London-Gatwick |
| Germanwings | Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart |
| Iberia | Seasonal: Madrid |
| Lufthansa | Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 3 June 2012], Frankfurt |
| Lufthansa operated by Lufthansa CityLine |
Munich, Frankfurt |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Seasonal: Copenhagen |
| Qatar Airways | Doha [begins 9 May 2012] |
| Sun d'Or operated by El Al | Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion |
| TAP Portugal | Bologna, Lisbon |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk |
[edit] Cargo airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| MiniLiner | Milan-Orio al Serio |
| Solinair | Ljubljana, Sarajevo |
| Trade Air | Ljubljana, Sarajevo |
| UPS Airlines operated by Farnair Switzerland | Cologne/Bonn, Ljubljana |
[edit] Traffic figures
| Year | Passengers | Cargo (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,149,830 | 7,388 |
| 2001 | 1,185,471 | 7,791 |
| 2002 | 1,203,436 | 7,347 |
| 2003 | 1,314,652 | 8,608 |
| 2004 | 1,408,206 | 8,899 |
| 2005 | 1,551,519 | 12,492 |
| 2006 | 1,728,414 | 10,393 |
| 2007 | 1,992,455 | 12,564 |
| 2008 | 2,192,453 | 12,697 |
| 2009 | 2,062,242 | 10,065 |
| 2010 | 2,071,561 | 8,156 |
| 2011 | 2,319,098 | 8,012 |
| 2012 | 131,068 | 494 |
- 2012 Figures to 31 January
[edit] Gallery
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JAL Boeing 747-400 at Airport Zagreb
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Apron traffic at Zagreb airport
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The town of Velika Gorica with Zagreb Airport in distance
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De-icing aircraft at Zagreb
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An old photo of a Croatia Airlines aircraft and tower
[edit] References
- ^ a b AIP from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
- ^ http://www.zagreb-airport.hr/en/izvjesca Annual reports
- ^ http://www.mmpi.hr/default.aspx?id=2068 Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure / Airports Statistics
- ^ http://www.zagreb-airport.hr/Statistika-za-2011-174.aspx
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zagreb airport |
- Official website (English)
- Airport information for LDZA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
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