Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport

Zagreb is not at the top of many spotters’ lists – unjustly so. The airport in Pleso is compact, but it offers a mix you will hardly find anywhere else: a national airline in the middle of a fleet transition, its last A319s and Dash 8s parked next to brand-new A220s, a Ryanair base, Star Alliance feeders from half of Europe and, on the same runway, the Croatian Air Force’s Rafales. Add a terminal that opened in 2017 and is a motif in itself with its undulating roof. If you know the runway direction in use and respect the military side, you can spend a very varied spotting day here.

From Borongaj to Pleso

Zagreb has a long flying history. As early as 1909 there was a first airfield at Črnomerec, and in 1910 the first Croatian pilot took off there. From 1926, the Borongaj airfield was built in the east of the city, and in February 1928 the first route, to Belgrade, started from there. In World War II, Borongaj served as a military airfield, and civilian traffic came to a halt. Another field, Lučko in the southwest of the city with its grass runway, is still used for general aviation today.

Today’s airport is in Pleso, a district of Velika Gorica about ten kilometers southeast of Zagreb’s main station. A terminal and an apron were built here in 1959, and on April 20, 1962, the airport company started operating. The beginnings were modest: a 2,500-meter concrete runway, a terminal of 1,000 square meters and an apron for five small aircraft. In its first year, the airport counted about 78,000 passengers.

In the following decades, Pleso grew steadily. In 1966 a larger terminal, a tower and a longer runway were added, and in 1974 the runway was brought to its current length of a good 3,250 meters. In the 1980s, Zagreb was Yugoslavia’s second-largest airport. The state airline JAT even flew the DC-10 nonstop from here to New York.

Croatia’s independence in 1991 began a new chapter – and at first a difficult one. During the war, the airport also served as a hub for humanitarian aid from the United Nations. At the same time, the young Croatia Airlines built Zagreb up as its home airport. The name of the first president, Franjo Tuđman, is now part of the airport’s official name; in everyday speech, many simply say Zagreb or Pleso.

Ownership: a concession under French leadership

Unlike many airports in the region, Zagreb has been privately operated for over ten years. In 2012, the Croatian government awarded a 30-year concession to the ZAIC consortium, led by France’s Groupe ADP (then Aéroports de Paris). At the start, it also included the construction group Bouygues, the Marguerite infrastructure fund, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, TAV Airports and the Croatian construction company Viadukt. The operating company is MZLZ, which runs the entire airport – runway, terminal, cargo and parking.

According to published figures, total investment was a good 320 million euros, most of it for the new terminal. The concession contract also stipulates when the operator has to build more: as soon as the airport reaches five million passengers in a year, the next expansion phase is due. That threshold is now within reach – more on that in a moment.

One runway, a new number

Zagreb manages with a single runway. It is 3,252 meters long and 45 meters wide and runs from southwest to northeast. For a long time, it was called 05/23. Because the Earth’s magnetic field shifts slowly, though, the designation no longer matched the actual magnetic heading. On February 27, 2020, the runway was therefore renamed 04/22. If you find old photos or logbook entries with “05” or “23”, they mean the same runway. Why it works this way is explained in the article on runway designations.

Which direction is in use depends on the wind. With a single runway, planning is simpler than at airports with several runways: you only need to know which side the aircraft come from. Since 2004, Zagreb has had a CAT IIIb ILS. That is no luxury, because dense fog often lies over the Sava basin in fall and winter. With the system, suitably equipped aircraft can land even in very low visibility. How an ILS approach works is covered in the article ILS approach explained.

The 2017 terminal

For a long time, Zagreb’s passenger terminal was a building that was added to again and again over the decades: from 5,000 square meters in the 1960s to 11,000 square meters in the mid-1980s and about 15,500 square meters in 2008. That was not enough for more passengers. On December 18, 2013, construction of a completely new terminal therefore began, designed by the Croatian architecture firm Neidhardt and built by Bouygues together with Viadukt.

On March 28, 2017, the new terminal went into operation. The first departure was a Croatia Airlines flight to Dubrovnik, and the first aircraft to dock was a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. The building has about 65,800 square meters on three levels. The wave-shaped roof stands out, catching the eye as you approach. For operations, there are eight passenger boarding bridges, nine security checkpoints and 23 passport control desks. At the opening there were 30 check-in desks; after an extension there are now 45.

In its current form, the terminal is designed for about five million passengers a year. That is exactly the limit the airport is now at. Under the concession, the operator has to start the expansion as soon as the threshold is reached in a calendar year. The plans call for expansion in several stages to up to eight million passengers a year. As of October 2026, the schedule and exact scope had not been published in binding form.

And the old terminal?

The old processing building has been closed to passengers since the new one opened. In spring 2026, media reported that the airport is reviewing reactivating the old terminal – for low-cost airlines, for example – and wants to decide by the end of the year. The conversion is seen as a faster and cheaper alternative to extending the new terminal. For you, this means a lot could change around the terminals in the next few years.

Traffic: on the way to five million

Zagreb is Croatia’s busiest airport – even if the coastal airports like Split and Dubrovnik are at times busier in summer. The big difference: Zagreb has flights all year round, while on the Adriatic traffic is concentrated in the season.

The numbers show a clear trend. In 2019, the airport counted about 3.4 million passengers, and in the pandemic year 2020 only a good 900,000. After that, things picked up quickly: about 3.7 million in 2023, about 4.3 million in 2024 and about 4.7 million in 2025 – a new record. The number of aircraft movements also rose to a good 51,000 in 2025. In the first months of 2026, traffic was again above the previous year according to the published monthly figures.

Cargo plays a smaller role than in Budapest or Vienna. About 12,000 to 13,000 tonnes are handled per year, a large share of it as belly cargo in passenger aircraft. Regular cargo flights come from DHL out of Leipzig, among others.

Croatia Airlines: a hub in transition

For spotters, Zagreb is above all one thing: the home of Croatia Airlines. The national airline is headquartered here and has its only real hub here. From Zagreb, it flies to the major European hubs, domestically to the coast and, in summer, on many additional routes to the Adriatic. As a member of Star Alliance, it works closely with the Lufthansa Group.

The exciting part is the ongoing fleet transition. Until 2024, the fleet consisted of a few Airbus A319s and A320s and several Dash 8-400 turboprops. At the end of July 2024, Croatia Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A220, and more have been arriving ever since. The goal is a uniform fleet of A220-300s and a few smaller A220-100s. The A320s have since been retired, the Dash 8s are also being phased out step by step since 2025, and the A319s are set to follow by 2027.

What this means for you: if you come to Zagreb now, you see the old and new generations side by side. In a few years, the picture will be much more uniform. How to reliably tell the turboprops from similar types is shown in the article Telling turboprops apart. For short routes, Croatia Airlines also leases aircraft with crew – what lies behind this model is covered in Wet lease explained.

Ryanair, Star Alliance and the Gulf

Since July 2021, Ryanair has had a base in Zagreb. The base started then with three stationed Airbus A320s and 26 destinations that had not been offered from Zagreb before. Such A320s fly within the group for the subsidiary Lauda Europe; depending on the rotation, you also see Boeing 737-800s or 737 MAX 8s alongside. Because the jets look very similar, it pays to note every registration cleanly.

Croatia Airlines’ Star Alliance partners are well represented: Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, LOT, Aegean and Turkish Airlines connect Zagreb with their hubs. Eurowings is also there, and from the end of October 2026, Air Dolomiti also flies to Munich according to the schedule. From other alliances, Air France and KLM fly, among others, as well as Iberia and British Airways seasonally. Air Serbia comes in from Belgrade, and Pegasus additionally from Istanbul.

From the Gulf, Qatar Airways from Doha and flydubai from Dubai are represented. True long-haul flights are rare; according to reference works, they include a connection by Air China and seasonal flights by Air Transat to Canada. The Croatian charter airline Trade Air is also based in Zagreb. As of October 2026 – routes and airlines change with every schedule, so check the current offering before your visit.

The military side: Rafales in Pleso

What sets Zagreb apart from many civilian airports is on the east side of the grounds. The “Pukovnik Marko Živković” barracks house the command of the Croatian Air Force and its most important air base. Civilian and military aircraft share the same runway.

On April 25, 2024, the first six Dassault Rafales of the Croatian Air Force landed here, built by Dassault Aviation. In total, Croatia bought twelve used Rafales from French stocks, with the remaining aircraft scheduled to arrive by spring 2025. The Rafales replaced the MiG-21, which Croatia operated as the last European country in active service. In May 2024, the Air Force bid farewell to the MiG-21 in Pleso with a public ceremony in which the new Rafales also took part. Since December 1, 2024, the MiG-21s are no longer on alert; air policing is temporarily handled by Italy and Hungary.

Besides the fighter jets, helicopters are also stationed at the base. For spotters that is a real bonus – but also a responsibility. Military facilities are sensitive in most countries, and photography there can be restricted or prohibited. What to keep in mind at such places in general is covered in the article Photographing military airfields: the rules.

Spotting in Zagreb: how to go about it

One thing up front: Zagreb has no officially designated, well-established spotting point like the spotter hill in Vienna. Older reports mention a viewing platform with a bar that was set up in 2010 at the terminal of the time. That building has been closed to passengers since 2017, though. Spotter reports also describe restricted views from the terminal and more of a view of the apron and the small aircraft parked along the fence outside. Whether the new terminal has a publicly accessible view of the apron is best checked on site.

The advantage in Zagreb: with just one runway, planning is manageable. If you know the runway direction in use, you know which area the approaches come over. Many spotters then look for public paths and roads in the approach path from which landings are easy to see – always outside the airport grounds and without blocking access roads or fields.

For photos: in foggy conditions in winter, the sky often stays gray until midday, while clear winter days after a cold front bring very good visibility. In summer, the air above the long runway shimmers strongly from late morning, and early morning and evening usually give sharper pictures. How to plan the sun for your vantage point is covered in the article Planning the sun position at your photo spot; you will find the right focal length in Lens and focal length for plane spotting.

Getting there: bus or car

The airport is about ten kilometers southeast of Zagreb’s main station. The most convenient option is the airport bus from Pleso prijevoz, a subsidiary of Croatia Airlines. It shuttles between the terminal and the Zagreb bus station and takes about 35 to 40 minutes. The current departure times are on the airport’s website.

Cheaper is city bus 290 of the Zagreb transport operator ZET. It connects Kvaternikov trg with Velika Gorica and stops at the airport; the trip takes about 45 to 50 minutes. Neither line goes directly to Ban Jelačić Square in the center; for the last stretch, you take the tram or walk. The airport has no rail connection.

By car, you reach Pleso via Zagreb or Velika Gorica, and there is a parking garage at the terminal. For locations in the approach paths, a car is practically a must.

Zagreb compared

In the region, Zagreb is a mid-sized airport. Ljubljana Airport is significantly smaller and only about a two-hour drive away, and Graz Airport also handles far fewer passengers. Belgrade Airport with Air Serbia is the larger counterpart in the southeast, and Budapest Airport offers a completely different picture with Wizz Air and lots of cargo.

If you are planning a spotting trip, you can combine Zagreb well with Vienna Airport. There, the spotter hill and the observation deck provide exactly the established infrastructure Zagreb lacks. In summer, a detour to the coast to Split or Dubrovnik is worthwhile, where charter and leisure airlines from all over Europe land. More ideas are collected in the article on the best spotting spots in Europe.

Conclusion

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport is no giant, but it is an airport with character. Croatia Airlines is in the middle of its switch to the A220, Ryanair has built up a base, and the Star Alliance partners bring variety from half of Europe. With the arrival of the Rafales, Pleso is also one of the most interesting places in the region for anyone who wants to combine civilian and military traffic.

An established spotting point is missing, though, and the military side demands restraint. If you arrive with a flight tracker, a weather report and respect for restricted areas, you will still have a rewarding day in Zagreb – especially now, while the last Croatia Airlines A319s and Dash 8s are still flying.