Zagreb Airport

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Zagreb Airport Pleso Airport Zračna Luka Zagreb

IATA: ZAG - ICAO: LDZA
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Zagreb Airport Ltd.
Serves		Zagreb
Elevation AMSL		353 ft (108 m)
Coordinates		45°44′35″N, 16°04′08″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
05/23	10,669	3,251	Asphalt

Zagreb Airport (IATA: ZAG, ICAO: LDZA), also known as Pleso Airport after the nearby suburb of Pleso, is the main international airport of Croatia. Located 14 km southeast of Zagreb, it served 1,728,413 passengers in 2006. It is the primary hub for Croatian flag carrier Croatia Airlines and is also an airforce base. Croatia Airlines and Wizz Air have established their operating base in Zagreb. With 10% annual passenger growth, expansion is needed.

1 History
2 Expansion and modernization
3 Airlines and destinations
4 Gallery
5 External links
6 Location

[edit] History

The first airfield in Zagreb was built in 1909 near the eastern city neighbourhood of Borongaj. It was used by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala for the airplanes he designed.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made a landing in Borongaj Airfield after his successful Atlantic crossing.

The airfield began serving passenger traffic on February 15, 1928.

After World War II, commercial service was moved to a former airbase near the village of Lučko, southwest of the city, on April 1, 1947. At its peak in 1959, Lučko served 167,000 passengers.

On April 20, 1962, service was once again moved, this time to the current location near the village 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 1979, with 1.91 million passengers.

[edit] Expansion and modernization

This article or section contains information about a planned or expected expansion of an existing airport.

It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the airport expansion approaches, and as more information becomes available on it.

New terminal rendering

In 2004, the airport installed a CAT-IIIb ILS.

A new terminal is planned for 2011. The initial plan, made by NACO in 1997, was for 47,000 m² of space, capacity for 11 jetways, and 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 11 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.

The terminal has been designed by Ted Nasmith, who also worked on special effects in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The design will include a retail component with stores, banks, cafes and restaurants. Directly in front of the new terminal will be a new luxury hotel with direct underground links to the terminal.

Construction will total €212 million, and is expected to begin in 2008. Following completion in 2011, 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 new terminal will be expanded in paces, as needed. The first expansion (to some 18 jetwas) may happen as soon as 2015. By the year 2030. Pleso should have about 50 jetways and 300.000m² of area.

Accompanying the terminal will be a second, parallel runway. The completion date is unknown at this stage, but it will most likely be by 2020.

By 2011, there will also be a new rail line alongside the new road, which will cross the Domovinski Bridge to be completed in 2007. These elements will create an entirely new east entrance into the city.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
Alitalia
- operated by Air Alps (Milan-Malpensa)
Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
B&H Airlines (Mostar, Sarajevo)
Croatia Airlines (Amsterdam, Bol, Brussels, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Mostar, Munich, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pula, Rome-Fiumicino, Sarajevo, Skopje, Split, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Zadar, Zürich)
Czech Airlines (Prague)
Germanwings (Berlin-Schönefeld, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg, Stuttgart)
LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw) [Re-starts June 2008]
Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich)
Malév Hungarian Airlines (Budapest)
TAP Portugal (Bologna, Lisbon)
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
Wizz Air (London-Luton)