Finnair terminates Zagreb as Vueling considers return

Finnair is terminating its seasonal service between Helsinki and Zagreb, while the Spanish low cost carrier Vueling is yet to make a final decision whether it will resume operations between Barcelona and the Croatian capital next year. Finnair confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that flights to Zagreb will not return in 2024 following two years of operations. “Zagreb is not in our network for summer 2024 and we currently don’t have any plans for restoring the route”, the Finnish national carrier said. Finnair maintained operations between Helsinki and Zagreb twice per week last summer season with a mix of Airbus A320 and Embraer E190 aircraft.

Iberia’s low cost subsidiary Vueling is yet to decide whether to resume its flights between Barcelona and Zagreb after the airline failed to put tickets for the route on sale. Last summer, it maintained two weekly rotations between the two cities with a mix of A319 and A320 aircraft. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier said a final decision on the route’s fate will be made “in a few weeks”, noting that, “At Vueling, we are constantly analysing our network and flight schedule”. Croatia Airlines, which also runs seasonal operations between the two cities, will resume services on April 4. It will maintain three weekly rotations with its A320-family fleet.

There are no other carriers operating between Helsinki and Zagreb. Finnair plans to serve both Dubrovnik and Split from the Finnish capital next summer, as does Norwegian, while Ryanair will maintain flights from both Dubrovnik and Zadar to Helsinki. On the other hand, 28.326 passengers flew between Barcelona and Zagreb during the first three quarters of this year, representing a decrease of 7.9% on the same period last year, and a 28.4% reduction on the same period during the pre-pandemic 2019. Ryanair, which has in recent years launched flights from Zagreb to Malaga and Lanzarote in Spain, will commence operations to Girona, near Spain’s second largest city, as well as Alicante and Palma de Mallorca, next summer. On the other hand, Iberia plans a record number of flights between Madrid and Zagreb in 2024.