Direct flights between Croatia and the US are once again on the table as the Croatian Ministry of Tourism seeks a US or European airline to operate services from next year. Flights between the two countries have been in the pipeline for a few years but it now seems that the Croatian government is determined to find a suitable carrier. The Croatian Minster of Tourism, Gari Cappelli, recently commented that “We are in serious negotiations over the introduction of year-long flights from Croatia to New York, most likely from Zagreb and Dubrovnik, even from Split. All signs point towards the introduction of seasonal flights during the high season in 2018 and year-long services in 2019.”

And according to a report on the specialist website EX-YU Aviation it appears that the Croatian Embassy in Washington is leading the search for an airline. However it is proving more difficult than expected to find a partner with Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United are ruling out any interest in operating the route. There is still the possibility that a European airline will take up the offer as any European Union registered carrier can operate services from any point in the block to the United States if it holds a valid foreign air carrier permit with the United States Department of Transportation.

In spite of the fact that there are no direct flights between Croatia and the US the second most numerous tourists in Dubrovnik in 2016, in terms of nationality, were Americans. The majority of the recent interest from the US has come about due to the fact that Dubrovnik has hosted many popular films and serials, including Game of Thrones, Star Wars and most recently Robin Hood.

The last time Croatia had direct scheduled flights to the United States was during the summer of 1991, when Pan Am maintained four weekly nonstop roundtrips from New York to Zagreb.