Split Saint Jerome Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Sveti Jeronim Split; IATA: SPU, ICAO: LDSP), also known as Split Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Split), is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located 19 km (12 mi) from Split, on the west side of Kaštela Bay, in the town of Kaštela, and extending into the adjacent town of Trogir. It is named after Saint Jerome, the patron saint of Split-Dalmatia County.[4]

Split Airport

Zračna luka Sveti Jeronim Split
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerSplit Airport Ltd.
ServesSplit/Kaštela/Trogir
LocationKaštela, Croatia
Hub forCroatia Airlines
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL78 ft / 24 m
Coordinates43°32′20″N 016°17′53″E / 43.53889°N 16.29806°E / 43.53889; 16.29806
Websitesplit-airport.hr
Map
SPU is located in Croatia
SPU
SPU
Location of the airport in Croatia
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 2,550 8,366 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers3,358,902 Increase 15.48%
Statistics from Split Airport site[1]
General information from Split Airport site[2]
Source: Croatian Aeronautical Information Publication[3]

In 2019, the airport was the second busiest in Croatia after Zagreb Airport, handling 3.3 million passengers.[5] The airport was the busiest in Croatia in 2021 handling 1.57 million passengers, surpassing Zagreb Airport for the first time. It is a major destination for leisure flights during the European summer holiday season and an important seasonal base for Croatia Airlines that offers flights to European cities such as Athens, Frankfurt, London and Paris.

History

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Foundation and early years

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The first grass airfield was located in Sinj and the first commercial route was opened in 1931 by the Yugoslav airline Aeroput. It linked Zagreb with Belgrade through Rijeka, Split and Sarajevo, and maintained this route until the start of the Second World War.[6][7] These flights connected Split either by its Divulje seaplane station, or by the Sinj airfield.[6]

In the sixties, the airport was relocated from Sinj to Resnik. The new airport complex, designed by architect Darko Stipevski (Tehnika, Zagreb), was opened on 25 November 1966. The apron had dimensions of only 200 x 112 m and 6 parking positions with a planned capacity of 150,000 passengers. Nearby military underground hangar[8] was built. In 1968, passenger numbers already stood at 150,737 and in 1969 at 235,000. In 1967, the apron was extended for the first time to accommodate 10 aircraft.[9]

A new, larger terminal building designed by architect Branko Gruica (Projektant, Mostar) was constructed and opened in 1979 to accommodate traffic for the 8th Mediterranean Games held in Split in September of that year.[10] The largest pre-war passenger numbers were achieved in 1987, totalling 1,151,580 passengers and 7,873 landings.[9]

In 1991, the passenger figures dropped to nearly zero, as the war in the former Yugoslavia broke out. In the years that followed, most of the traffic were NATO and UN cargo planes, such as the C-5 Galaxy, MD-11, Boeing 747 and C-130 Hercules. After 1995, the civilian traffic figures began rising again, and eventually surpassed the 1987 level in 2008.[9]

Development since 2000

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In 2005, the terminal got a major facelift by architect Ivan Vulić (VV-Projekt, Split) adding one more gate, the glass façade, as well as the award-winning Airport entrance structure consisting of steel/fabric "trees" illuminated by multi-colour LEDs.[11][12]

The new apron designed by Ivan Vulić, Ivan Radeljak and Mate Žaja was constructed in 2011 with a capacity slightly over the old one but with better security conditions.[13] The cost of this investment was €13 million leading to 34,000 m2  of new parking space for aircraft as well as space for future administrative works below the apron.[14] The lower level houses warehouses, workshops, offices and other objects that will support the new 34,500 m2, HRK 455 million terminal building that is being built next to it.[15][16] New apron features an unusual sound barrier on the south side which can be closed when an aircraft is close by and opened in all other times to allow for fairly unobstructed view of the Adriatic sea from the terminal building.[citation needed]

The airport's busiest time are the months of June, July and August due to a large influx of tourists for the European summer holiday period. Weekends are the busiest part of the week with more than 200 flights and some 50,000 passengers.[17]

Due to significant increase in passengers numbers, especially during the summer months, an expansion project was completed in summer of 2019, adding more than three times the floor space of the original terminal building and increasing the capacity to 5 million passengers per year. Original terminal has been refurbished and is still being used for some international departures, while check in, all domestic departures as well as both international and domestic arrivals including baggage claim is located in the new areas. As a part of the expansion project, an enclosed bridge was built over the state road D409, taking passengers to the newly built parking lot, bus terminal and rental car facilities. The decision not to include any jet bridges in the new expansion has been justified because of limited apron space as well as the fact that majority of the airlines at the airport are low-cost carriers.[citation needed]

Airlines and destinations

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

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens[18]
Aer Lingus Seasonal: Dublin[19][better source needed]
Air France Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle[20][better source needed]
Air Serbia Seasonal: Belgrade[21]
airBaltic Seasonal: Riga, Tallinn[22][better source needed]
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna[citation needed]
Braathens International Airways Seasonal charter: Gothenburg, [citation needed] Luleå, Malmö,[23] Norrköping,[citation needed] Oslo,[citation needed] Örebro[citation needed]
British Airways Seasonal: London–City,[24][25] London–Heathrow,[26] London–Stansted[27]
Brussels AirlinesSeasonal: Brussels[28]
Condor Seasonal: Düsseldorf,[29] Frankfurt,[citation needed] Munich[30]
Croatia Airlines Copenhagen,[31] Frankfurt,[32] Munich,[33] London–Heathrow,[34] Rome–Fiumicino, Zagreb,[35] Zürich
Seasonal: Amsterdam,[31] Athens, Berlin, Bucharest–Otopeni,[31] Dublin,[31] Dubrovnik, Düsseldorf,[33] Istanbul,[36] London–Gatwick, Lyon, Milan–Malpensa,[31] Osijek, Oslo,[37] Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[38] Prague,[39] Skopje,[40] Stockholm–Arlanda,[31] Vienna[33]
Seasonal charter: Girona,[citation needed] Knock, Karlstad,[41] Luleå,[42] Örnsköldsvik,[42] Östersund,[42] Skellefteå,[42] Umeå[42]
Discover Airlines Seasonal: Frankfurt[43]
easyJet Seasonal: Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Liverpool (begins 9 June 2025),[44] London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly
Edelweiss Air Zürich[45]
Eurowings Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart
Seasonal: Berlin, Dortmund
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki[46]
Iberia Seasonal: Madrid[47]
ITA Airways Seasonal: Rome–Fiumicino[48][49]
Jet Time Seasonal charter: Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Helsinki[50] Luleå, Stockholm–Arlanda
Jet2.com Seasonal: Birmingham, East Midlands (begins 3 May 2026),[51] Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester
KLM Amsterdam[52]
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal: Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Seasonal: Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Bergen, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Riga (begins 3 May 2025)[53], Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim
Play Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík[54][55]
Ryanair Seasonal: Dublin, Rome–Fiumicino,[56] Vienna[57]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Bergen, Copenhagen,[58] Gothenburg,[59] Oslo,[58] Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim[60]
Smartwings Seasonal: Innsbruck,[61] Prague
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Stockholm–Arlanda[62]
Trade Air Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Zadar
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam,[63] Paris–Orly, Rotterdam/The Hague
TUI Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick, Manchester
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Antwerp, Brussels[64]
TUI fly Nordic Seasonal charter: Stockholm–Arlanda
Volotea Seasonal: Athens,[65] Bari,[66] Bordeaux, Lille,[67] Lyon,[68] Marseille, Nantes, Naples,[69] Strasbourg,[70] Toulouse
Vueling Seasonal: Barcelona, Rome–Fiumicino
Wizz Air Seasonal: Gdańsk,[71] Katowice, Kraków,[72] London–Luton, Lublin,[73] Rome–Fiumicino,[74] Vienna,[75][76] Vilnius,[77] Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław

Statistics

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Split Airport new terminal interior
 
Split Airport old terminal entrance
 
Split Airport old terminal interior
 
Air Traffic Control tower
 
View from the ATC tower at Split Airport
Annual passenger traffic at SPU airport. See Wikidata query.
Traffic at Split Resnik Airport[1]
Year Passengers Passenger %
Change
Cargo Cargo %
Change
2014 1,752,657 10.81  498 7.14 
2015 1,955,400 11.57  551 10 
2016 2,289,987 17.11  631 15 
2017 2,818,176 23.1  747 18 
2018 3,124,067 10.85  823 10 
2019 3,301,930 5.69  866 5 
2020 674,366 79.57  273 68 
2021 1,577,584 133.93  n/a n/a
2022 2,908,577 84.37  n/a n/a
2023 3,336,581 14.72  n/a n/a
Traffic at Split Resnik Airport in 2023/2024 by month[1]
Month Passengers 2023 Passengers 2024 Passenger %
Change
Passengers cumulatively 2024
January 32,100 30,012 6.50  30,012
February 30,304 30,070 0.77  60,082
March 50,600 49,428 2.32  109,510
April 157,693 186,695 18.39  296,205
May 315,855 357,336 13.13  653,541
June 487,631 537,326 10.19  1,190,867
July 744,720 770,502 3.46  1,961,369
August 678,436 726,082 7.02  2,687,451
September 509,952 535,233 4.96  3,222,684
October 252,360 306,159 21.32  3,528,843
November 39,502 49,851 26.20  3,578,694
December 37,428
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Split Airport can be reached from Split (and Trogir, where indicated) by public buses:

  • Promet line no. 37 (Split-Airport-Trogir and Trogir-Airport-Split), terminating at the Sukoišan bus terminal in Split (about 10 minutes walking from the old town, and 20 minutes from the main bus/railway station), departing every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays[78]
  • Promet line no. 2 (Split-Strinje-Airport)[79]

The airport is also easily reachable by shuttles, taxis or private cars. Numerous car rental companies are available on the site.

Ship

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A catamaran service between the airport and Split harbour is available every 90 minutes in the peak tourist season (15 July – 30 September) and with lower frequency through October.[80][81] Another line connecting the airport two additional times daily with Split harbour and Bol on Brač island is available from June to mid-September.[82]

Rail

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The airport is linked onto the Split suburban railway with a Promet bus line running eight times daily between the nearest train station (Kaštel Stari) and the airport with a joint ticket.[83][84]

According to Split city administration plans, starting from 2025–6 the Split suburban railway will be extended to the airport.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Split Airport Statistics". split-airport.hr. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ "General Information on Split Airport". split-airport.hr. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ AIP from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
  4. ^ Bradbury, Paul (10 December 2023). "Renaming Croatian infrastructure: And now Split Airport". Total Croatia News. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Split Airport Statistics". split-airport.hr.
  6. ^ a b Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput (1927–1948) at europeanairlines.no
  7. ^ "Aeroklub "SINJ"". Zajednica športskih udruga grada Sinja (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Airport Divulje Split (underground facility Cetina)". 2 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "History". Split Airport. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  10. ^ Markovina, Dragan (2014). "The Mediterranean games in Split 1979.: A crucial step toward The modernisation of The city". In Basić, Ivan; Rimac, Marko (eds.). Spalatumque dedit ortum : zbornik povodom desete godišnjice Odsjeka za povijest Filozofskog fakulteta u Splitu = collected papers on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Department of history, Faculty of humanities and social sciences in Split. Split: Filozofski fakultet u Splitu, Odsjek za povijest. pp. 544.–546. ISBN 9789537395629. OCLC 938637692.
  11. ^ Radnić, Jure; Matešan, Domagoj (2005). "Canopy structure at the Split-Kaštela airport". Građevinar. 57: 151–156 – via HRCAK.
  12. ^ "International Achievement Awards" (PDF). Fabric Architecture. 3: 48. April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Stajanka Zračne luke Split". VV-PROJEKT ARHITEKTI.
  14. ^ "Enlargement of Split Airport Apron". Split Airport. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Split airport to get new passenger terminal". Republic of Croatia – Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Split International Airport Terminal Rehabilitation and Expansion". Airport Technology. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
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  22. ^ "Largest number of new routes – airBaltic announces 18 new routes". Air Baltic Press Release. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
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  25. ^ "BA CityFlyer NS23 Network Adjustment – 25DEC22". Aeroroutes.com. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
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  27. ^ "British Airways adds a new route from London Stansted to Split". Heads for points. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
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  29. ^ "Condor S18 Short-Haul routes addition as of 06DEC17". Routesonline. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
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  32. ^ Liu, Jim. "Croatia Airlines NW24 A220 Network – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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  36. ^ "Croatia Airlines introduces Split – Istanbul flight". Avioradar. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Croatia Airlines schedules two more summer routes". exyuaviation.com. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  38. ^ "Croatia Airlines A220 Operations – 29JUL24".
  39. ^ "Croatia Airlines dodatno proširuje mrežu odredišta". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
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  41. ^ "PRVI OBJAVLJUJEMO-NAJAVE: Croatia pokreće Karlstad-Split". zamaaero.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  42. ^ a b c d e "Flight". Kroatienspecialisten.se.
  43. ^ "EUROWINGS DISCOVER ASSUMES ADDITIONAL LUFTHANSA CROATIA SERVICE IN NS24".
  44. ^ "EasyJet announces new holiday route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport for summer 2025".
  45. ^ "Edelweiss in December and January connects Zurich and Split!". CroatianAviation. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  46. ^ "Finnair August 2022 European Network Adjustment - 24JUL22". Aeroroutes.
  47. ^ "Vueling Expands Iberia Codeshare Network From mid-May 2022". Aeroroutes.
  48. ^ "ITA Airways unveils its Volare loyalty program". Worldairlinnews. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  49. ^ "LET CROATIA INSPIRE YOU". ITA Airways. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  50. ^ "NAJAVE: Jet Time kreće letove Helsinki-Split". zamaaero.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  51. ^ https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/jet2-and-jet2holidays-tease-further-growth-as-expanded-summer-2026-programme-released
  52. ^ "KLM uvodi cjelogodišnju liniju za Split!". croatianaviation.com. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  53. ^ "Norwegian najavio novu liniju prema Splitu".
  54. ^ "PLAY SCHEDULES REYKJAVIK – SPLIT SEASONAL SERVICE IN NS24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  55. ^ "PLAY adds Split to its route network". Play. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  56. ^ "Ryanai apre 16 nuove rotte a Roma. Baserà un altro aereo". 12 January 2023.
  57. ^ "Ryanair launches Split-Vienna flights". 5 December 2023.
  58. ^ a b Liu, Jim (22 January 2024). "SAS NS24 European Network Changes – 21JAN24". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  59. ^ Liu, Jim (21 December 2022). "SAS NS23 Short-Haul Frequency Variations – 18DEC22". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  60. ^ "Sas Offers More Routes and Frequencies for the Summer - Sas".
  61. ^ "SMARTWINGS NS24 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 07JAN24".
  62. ^ "Denmark's Sunclass to launch Croatia service". 20 March 2023.
  63. ^ "Transavia: Salzburg en Split komende zomer nieuw vanaf Schiphol". luchtvaartnieuws.nl. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  64. ^ Liu, Jim. "TUIfly Belgium Schedules New Brussels Short-Haul Routes in NS22". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  65. ^ "Volotea najavila novu liniju iz Grčke za Split". avioradar.net. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  66. ^ "Volotea uvodi novu liniju iz Splita". croatianaviation.com. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  67. ^ "Palermo, Volotea annuncia la nuova rotta per Lille". 2 March 2022.
  68. ^ "Volotea S19 new routes as of 12NOV18". Routesonline. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  69. ^ "Volotea further expands Split network". 19 October 2023.
  70. ^ "Volotea announces Strasbourg to Split".
  71. ^ "Wizz Air announces new route from Poland to Split". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  72. ^ "Wizz Air uvodi liniju Krakow - Split!". croatianaviation.com. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  73. ^ "Wizz Air announced additional two routes from Poland to Croatia". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  74. ^ "BIGGEST EVER WIZZ AIR NETWORK IN ITALY AS THE AIRLINE ANNOUNCES A NEW BASE IN ROME FIUMICINO". wizz news. 13 May 2021.
  75. ^ "WIZZ – Dream more. Live more. Be more".
  76. ^ "Wizz Air announced two new routes from Vienna to Croatia". avioradar.hr. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  77. ^ "Wizz Air introduces a new route from Vilnius to Split in Croatia, opens Cardiff base". worldairlinenews. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  78. ^ "Promet Split > Vozni red > Sve linije". www.promet-split.hr. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  79. ^ Schedule
  80. ^ "New fast-boat line from Split Airport to the Islands of Brac and Hvar". Avioradar. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  81. ^ Split-Resnik line timetable
  82. ^ Resnik – Split – Bol line timetable
  83. ^ Line schedule
  84. ^ DP (10 August 2019). "Integriranom linijom autobusa i vlaka do brže povezanosti zračne i trajektne luke". www.kastela.org (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 August 2019.
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