Pula Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Pula; Italian: Aeroporto di Pola; IATA: PUY, ICAO: LDPL) is the international airport serving the city of Pula, in northwestern Croatia, and is located 6 km from the city centre.[1] It served 777,568 passengers in 2019.[2] The airport is designated as the alternative airport for parts of Slovenia and a multitude of cities in eastern Italy. It serves as a major access point to the city of Pula, as well as most of Istria, most notably Brijuni national park.

Pula Airport

Zračna luka Pula
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorPula Airport Ltd.
ServesPula, Croatia
Elevation AMSL274 ft / 84 m
Coordinates44°53′37″N 013°55′20″E / 44.89361°N 13.92222°E / 44.89361; 13.92222
Websiteairport-pula.hr
Map
PUY is located in Croatia
PUY
PUY
Location of the airport in Croatia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,950 9,678 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers395,178 Increase 46,34%

History edit

Pula Airport at its current location was initially used only for military purposes but it was changed to a civilian airport as of 1 May 1967 and saw 701,370 passengers in 1987. In the same year, works on a new terminal building began and were completed by 1989 with a capacity of 1 million passengers per year. The Croatian War of Independence has caused a sharp decline in passenger numbers. The airport saw a steady increase in passenger volume over the next 3 decades, surpassing the previous record set in 2018. As most passengers flying to or from Pula airport are holiday makers, flight numbers have a significant seasonal character.

Facilities edit

Pula Airport has a single terminal building with a capacity of 1 million passengers per year. The airport serves both domestic and international flights. Inside the terminal there are a couple of café/snack bars as well as duty-free shop. None of the gates are equipped with jet bridges but rather the passengers walk from the terminal building to the aircraft or are transferred by bus.

Because of its location and fairly good weather conditions all year around, as well as lower flight numbers during the winter months, it is frequently used by European carriers for training flights.

Ground transportation edit

The airport can be reached by a dedicated bus line from the centre of Pula. The schedule is adjusted on a monthly basis to meet the flights arrival/departure.

Airlines and destinations edit

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Pula Airport:

 
Aerial view
AirlinesDestinations
Air Serbia Seasonal: Belgrade
British Airways Seasonal: London–Heathrow
Croatia AirlinesZadar, Zagreb
Seasonal: Zürich
easyJet Seasonal: Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin, Bristol, Glasgow (resumes 24 June 2024),[3] London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich
Eurowings Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hanover (begins 18 May 2024),[4] Stuttgart
Jet2.com Seasonal: Birmingham (begins 2 May 2025),[5] London–Stansted (begins 3 May 2025),[5] Manchester (begins 2 May 2025)[5]
Lufthansa Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen,[6] Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair Seasonal: Charleroi, Katowice,[7] London–Stansted, Memmingen (begins 1 June 2024),[8] Poznań, Vienna, Weeze[9]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo
Trade Air Osijek, Split
Transavia Seasonal: Rotterdam/The Hague
TUI Airways Seasonal: Birmingham, London–Gatwick, Manchester
TUI fly Nordic Seasonal charter: Gothenburg,[10] Stockholm–Arlanda

Statistics edit

Annual passenger traffic at PUY airport. See Wikidata query.
Traffic at Pula Airport
Year Passengers Change Aircraft movements Change
2011 355,920  7,1% 6,984  2,3%
2012 367,455  3,2% 7,132  2,1%
2013 351,196  4,4% 7,292  2,2%
2014 382,992  9,1% 7,106  2,6%
2015 359,426  6,2% 6,954  2,1%
2016 436,121  21,3% 7,692  10,6%
2017 595,812  36,5% 9,288  20,7%
2018 718,187  20,53% 10,076  8,4%
2019 777,568  8,26% 10,428  3,49%
2020 83,502  89,26% 4,464  57,19%
2021 270,035  223,38% 8,124  81,98%
2022 395,178  46,34% n/a n/a
2023 424,000  7.29% n/a n/a

Ground transportation edit

A bus goes to/from the airport ("Pula Zracna Luka") and the Pula central bus terminal ("Bus Kolodvor").

A taxi can be taken to the outskirts of Pula (specifically, Verudela, where Hotel Palma and Histria are located).

Incidents and accidents edit

  • On 2 August 2009, a private Piper PA-46-310P Malibu, from Frankfurt to Pula failed to extend its nose gear for landing. After several tries it ran out of fuel and landed on its main landing gear. When it landed, the nose of the airplane touched the runway and stopped, which resulted in substantial damage. There were no injuries reported among the five passengers.[11][12]
  • On 21 September 2011, the left main gear on a private Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage collapsed after it made a 180 degree turn to line-up with the runway. The runway was closed for three hours as a result. The plane received minor damage and there were no injuries reported among the four passengers in the aircraft.[13]
  • On 1 April 2023, a Piper PA-46-310P Malibu, crashed during takeoff killing two german passengers

References edit

  1. ^ a b "AIP from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation". Ead.eurocontrol.int. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Statistics - Airport Pula". Airport-pula.hr. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. ^ "easyJet to launch new Pula service". exyuaviation.com. 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ https://zamaaero.com/25/01/2024/novosti-iz-regije/prvi-objavljujemo-najave-eurowings-pokrece-hanover-pula/
  5. ^ a b c "Jet2holidays puts four new destinations across Greece, Portugal and Croatia on sale".
  6. ^ "Summer 2023: Norwegian launches more than twenty new routes from Denmark and Norway". 17 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Ryanair najavio 5 novih linija prema Hrvatskoj".
  8. ^ "Ryanair launches Pula-Memmingen flights". 5 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Ryanair start vier nieuwe zomerroutes vanaf Weeze Airport met extra toestel". luchtvaartnieuws.nl. 14 December 2022.
  10. ^ "TUI fly Nordic will boost flight operations to Croatia". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  11. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Incident Piper PA-46-310P Malibu / Jetprop DLX D-ETPW, 02 Aug 2009". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Two foreigners killed as small plane crashes in Croatia". macaubusiness.com. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  13. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Incident Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage D-EIFA, 21 Sep 2011". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 26 July 2018.

External links edit

  Media related to Pula Airport at Wikimedia Commons