Passenger traffic in airports and seaports increased compared to last year

In Croatian airports, the growth in the number of aircraft landings and takeoffs continued in October, as well as the increase in the number of passengers compared to the same month last year.

According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, in Croatian airports in October compared to the same month in 2014, the number of aircraft landings and takeoffs increased by 0.4 percent to 7,851, while the number of passengers increased by 10.9 percent to 597 thousand, according to the CBS data. 

Growth in the number of passengers in almost all airports

Among the eight airports in Croatia, only Osijek Airport had a lower number of passengers in October than last year, down by 10.4 percent, totaling 3,556.  The most passengers, 238.5 thousand, were recorded at Zagreb Airport, which saw an increase of 5.7 percent compared to last October. Dubrovnik Airport followed with 147.5 thousand passengers, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year. Split Airport achieved a 16.6 percent increase in the number of passengers, reaching 133.1 thousand, while Zadar Airport saw a 15.9 percent increase to 49.7 thousand.
The highest percentage increase in the number of passengers was recorded at Pula Airport, with a remarkable 45.9 percent increase to 17.9 thousand. A total of 6,489 and 241 passengers passed through Rijeka and Brač Airports, respectively, representing annual growth of 18.9 and 15.3 percent.

The most passengers arriving by air in Croatia in October came from Germany, totaling 159.2 thousand, and the United Kingdom, with 87.4 thousand, which are increases of 15.4 and 14.8 percent compared to last October. France ranked third with 33.7 thousand passengers, followed by Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain. The highest percentage increases in the number of passengers, of 51.9 and 51.6 percent, were recorded from the Netherlands and Belgium.

Cargo traffic in airports increased by 12.3 percent in that month to 749 tons. The October increases in airports also reflected in the traffic at these airports for the first ten months of this year, which saw a 6.5 percent increase in the number of aircraft operations and a 7.3 percent increase in passengers compared to last year, while cargo traffic improved by 1.4 percent.

More ships, but fewer passengers and goods in seaports

An increase was also recorded in seaports in the number of incoming ships, but with a decrease in the number of passengers. In October, 22.6 thousand ships arrived at seaports, an increase of 8.6 percent compared to last October, but the number of passengers fell by 0.9 percent to 1.68 million. Domestic passenger traffic decreased by 0.5 percent, while international traffic fell by 5.1 percent.

Of the total 24 seaports on the Adriatic, the highest number of passengers in October was in Split port, with 273.8 thousand, representing a 9 percent increase for that port.  Other ports that recorded an increase in passengers include Zadar, Preko, Supetar, Cres, Krk, Pula, Rogač, and Poreč, with increases ranging from 5.7 to 2.6 percent. The remaining ports had fewer passengers than last year. Dubrovnik port, with 185 thousand passengers, recorded a decrease of 10.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

Cargo traffic in seaports fell by 22.5 percent to 1.35 million tons, due to a decline in international loading and unloading. The largest drop in cargo traffic was recorded in the ports of Omišalj and Split, with decreases of 30.9 and 23.6 percent, respectively. In the first ten months, seaports can overall boast an increase in incoming ships of 22.7 percent, totaling 278.8 thousand. The number of passengers increased by 15.4 percent to 26.4 million, while cargo increased by 0.2 percent to 16 million tons.