Rijeka Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Rijeka) (IATA: RJK, ICAO: LDRI) is the international airport serving Rijeka, Croatia. It is located near the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk, 17 km from the Rijeka railway station.[1] Most of the traffic to and from the airport occurs during the summer months, when it is used by several European low-cost airlines flying tourists to the northern parts of the Croatian coast.
Before the Second World War the city was divided between Yugoslavia and Italy. The Yugoslav part of the city was served by the airfield in Sušak. Domestic airline Aeroput opened a route linking Sušak to Zagreb in 1930, and a year later a route linking Zagreb to Belgrade via Sušak, Split and Sarajevo was opened. By 1936 Aeroput linked the city to Belgrade, Borovo, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Split and Zagreb.[2]
On 23 May 1971, Aviogenex Flight 130 crashed on approach to Rijeka Airport because of rough landing in bad weather conditions,[6][7] killing 78 people and leaving five survivors. Among the victims was the famous Croatian poet Josip Pupačić with his wife and daughter.