Airports in Croatia have today applied the Schengen rules and are not expecting crowds or stoppages on the first day, and as it is also the beginning of the summer flight schedule, most are announcing an increase in traffic, reaching and exceeding the results from the record year 2019.

As at road border crossings, so at airports, the application of the Schengen regime means the free flow of passengers coming from that area without border passport controls. This makes many international flights domestic, so the ratio at most airports will be approximately 70 to 30 percent in favour of domestic flights.

This also means that passengers flying from Croatia or to Croatia from Croatian and European airports will not go through the control of personal documents, but only through security checks and then boarding the plane.

For the application of Schengen, the largest airport in Croatia, Zagreb's Franjo Tuđman, has invested another million euros in works to adapt the space, expecting that the passage through the airport will be easier and faster for passengers traveling to or coming from Schengen member countries from Sunday.

Dubrovnik Airport ready for busy season 

The southernmost airport in Croatia, Dubrovnik, has completed works in the arrivals area of the passenger terminal for passengers from non-Schengen destinations and third countries, and is also preparing for the introduction of the EES (entry/exit system) system, which should come into force during the year.

"Most of the works have already been completed, and some of them were also carried out on the night of March 25-26 due to operational requirements, with long-planned investments. We do not expect problems with passengers or major crowds related to entry into the Schengen zone, but even better results", said the Dubrovnik airport.

In the summer flight schedule, from March 26 to October 28, Dubrovnik will be connected to more than 75 destinations in Western and Central Europe with flights from about 50 carriers, and already in the first week of the summer flight schedule, the airport should be connected by direct flights with the most important international hubs in Europe. It will also have direct United Airlines flights to New York and Flydubai to Dubai.

"In 2023, Dubrovnik Airport expects an increase in passenger traffic of about 20 percent compared to 2022 and an increase in the number of operations by about 15 percent. Compared to 2019, which was a record year for us with 2.89 million passengers, this year we should have about 90 percent of that number," the airport said.