Zagreb Airport Plan

Five-year plan to modernise Zagreb airport

UPDATE 2017 - The new Zagreb airport has been completed and opened in late March 2017. Since then it's been getting over 10% more air passengers coming to Zagreb or passing through. Croatia Airlines has added 4 new destinations from Zagreb, while two more airlines are now flying to Zagreb - Monarch and Emirates.

ORIGINAL STORY 2005 - New airport terminal costing 212 million Euros is planned for the Zagreb international airport. The study has been done by the Canadian architectual firm Scott Associates Architects, subsidized by the Canadian government. The new, modern passenger terminal would occupy 65,000 sq. metres and is planned to have 11 passenger air bridges. This is the largest of Croatian airports.

Old Zagreb airport built in 1962

Zagreb airport has plans for a significant upgrade

The current airport was built in 1962 and currently handles about 1,6 million passengers annually, although its fully capacity is 2 million. The new airport would have the capacity to handle 3,3 million passengers per year.

At the current rate of growth, this number of international passengers is expected to be reached by the new airport in the year 2020. The new plan envisions then further expansion of the airport.

It's interesting to note that the new airport design, commissioned by the Canadian firm, was done by Ted Nasmith, well known illustrator of J.R. Tolkien's works (of Lord of the Rings fame). Mr Nasmith also developed proposed airport designs for new Irkutsk airport as well as Frederick Chopin airport in Warsaw. Although his designs were not in the end used for those two airports.