Belgrade has overtaken Skopje after six years to become Zagreb’s busiest capital city route from the republics which once formed the former Yugoslavia. The pair were followed by Sarajevo and Podgorica, the latter being maintained on a seasonal summer basis. Air Serbia, as the sole operator on the Belgrade – Zagreb service, handled 62.244 passengers between the two capitals in 2023. It performed a total of 1.316 flights (both directions included) and registered an average cabin load factor for the entire year of 70%. Figures on the route have overtaken their pre-Covid levels, with the carrier welcoming 48.822 passengers in 2019. This coming summer season, Air Serbia will operate fifteen weekly flights between the two cities, increasing to sixteen weekly from May 5. Both are up on last-year’s fourteen weekly service.
Roundtrip passenger performance on Zagreb flights, 2023
Croatia Airlines, as the only operator on the Zagreb – Skopje service, welcomed 59.624 passengers on board its aircraft. The airline maintained a total of 966 flights between the two cities, registering an average cabin load factor of 60.8% during the twelve-month period. The carrier’s figures on the route were below its pre-Covid levels. In 2019, it handled 74.590 travellers. During last year, Croatia Airlines also inaugurated a seasonal service between Split and Skopje, which ran from May until October. Croatia Airline plans to slightly increase operations between the two capitals this summer with nine weekly rotations, whereas last year frequencies varied between eight and nine weekly, depending on the month.
Croatia Airlines handled 40.986 passengers between Zagreb and Sarajevo. It faces no competition between the two cities. During 2023 it performed a total of 1.356 flights. Its average cabin load factor over the twelve months stood at 40%. The route is some way off from recovering its pre-Covid passenger figures. In 2019, the Croatian carrier handled 65.639 travellers between the two capitals. This summer, Croatia Airlines plans to operate thirteen weekly flights on the route, up from the eleven to thirteen weekly services operated last year, depending on the month. The only other capital from the former Yugoslavia served out of Zagreb is Podgorica, however, the route, operated by Ryanair, was turned into a seasonal service last October. Last year, the budget airline handled 26.835 passengers between the two cities, with an average cabin load factor of 89.1%.
