Rijeka Airport

Rijeka Airport (Template:Langx, Template:Langx; Template:Comma separated entries) 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. 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.

History

Rijeka Airport opened in May 1970. The first plane to depart carried Josip Broz Tito and his wife.

Before the Second World War, Rijeka 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. The Italian part of the city was connected to many Italian cities with regular flights provided by Italian company Ala Littoria.

The Grobnik airport had difficulty with larger planes, as its runways were close to the hills to the east of the city. With larger airliners coming on board, planners decided on a location on Krk after considering locations close to Opatija and near Urinj, which would have required moving some hills.

Facilities

Terminal

Rijeka airport has a single terminal building which dates back to its original opening in 1970. Over the decades minor upgrades have been made. Terminal has seven gates, one domestic and six international. None of the gates have jet bridges and boarding is done by people walking from the terminal directly to the aircraft. The arrivals hall features a single baggage belt. On the upper floor there is a small duty free in the international area, mostly featuring local produced merchandise, as well as a café bar. Another bar with a limited selection of snacks is located on before in the entrance hall. Domestic departures have no facilities after security check. Several car rental agencies maintain their offices during the summer season.

Runway

The airport has a single runway, approximately 2500 m long and 45 m wide. There are no taxiways. Consequently, aircraft have to turn at the end of the runway and taxi back along the runway to approach the terminal. Runway 14 has CAT I ILS landing aids installed.

Ground transportation

Since the airport is located on the island of Krk, there is a dedicated bus line from Rijeka and Omišalj which runs as needed, considering the flight arrival times. The shuttle would not operate unless bookings are made 24 hours prior to departure.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rijeka Airport: Template:Airport-dest-list

Statistics

Traffic figures at Rijeka Airport

Year	Passengers	Change	Aircraft movements	Change	Cargo	Change
2011	84,713	Increase28.32%	2,680	Increase32.84%
2012	77,082	Decrease7.77%	2,290	Decrease15.49%
2013	142,975	Increase93.47%	2,653	Increase17.13%
2014	106,235	Decrease26.82%	2,378	Decrease10.37%
2015	139,718	Increase37.06%	4,014	Increase68.80%
2016	145,297	Increase3.99%	4,146	Increase3.29%
2017	142,111	Decrease2.2%	4,937	Increase19.1%	2,130,742
2018	183,606	Increase29.2%	5,460	Increase10.6%	4,655,866	Increase118.5%
2019	200,841	Increase9.4%	4,942	Decrease9.4%	1,025.879	Decrease78.0%
2020	27,680	Decrease86.22%	3,360	Decrease32.01%	259,226	Decrease74,73%
2021	56,388	Increase103.71%	4,286	Increase27.55%	56	Decrease99,98%
2022	164,086	Increase190.99%	4,392	Increase2.47%	41,077	Increase73251.78%
2023	154,367	Decrease5.92%
2024	145,148	Decrease%

Incidents and accidents

• On 23 May 1971, Aviogenex Flight 130 crashed on approach to Rijeka Airport because of rough landing in bad weather conditions, killing 78 people and leaving five survivors. Among the victims was the famous Croatian poet Josip Pupačić with his wife and daughter.

External links

• Official website