Split Airport

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Split Airport (IATA: SPU, ICAO: LDSP; Croatian: Zra?na luka Split), also known as Resnik Airport (Zra?na luka Resnik), is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located 24 km (15 mi) from Split, on the west side of Ka?tela Bay, in the town of Ka?tela, and extending into the adjacent town of Trogir.

In 2016 the airport was the second busiest in Croatia after Zagreb Airport handling around 2.3 million passengers. It is a major destination for leisure flights during the European summer holiday season and an important focus city for Croatia Airlines that offers flights to European cities such as Athens, Frankfurt, London or Paris.

Video Split Airport

History

Split's first commercial route was opened in 1931 by the Yugoslav airline Aeroput which linked Zagreb with Belgrade through Rijeka, Split and Sarajevo, and maintained this route until the start of the Second World War.

The current airport was opened on 25 November 1966. The apron had dimensions of only 200 x 112 m and 6 parking positions with a planned capacity of 150,000 passengers. In 1968 passenger numbers stood already at 150,737 and in 1969 at 235,000. In 1967 the apron was extended for the first time to accommodate 10 aircraft. A new larger terminal building was constructed and opened in 1979 to accommodate traffic for the 8th Mediterranean Games held in Split in September. The largest pre-war passenger numbers were achieved in 1987 totaling 1,151,580 passengers and 7,873 landings.

In 1991 the passenger figures dropped to nearly zero, as the war in the former Yugoslavia broke out. In the years that followed, most of the traffic were NATO and UN cargo planes, such as the C-5 Galaxy, MD-11, Boeing 747 and C-130 Hercules. After 1995 the civilian traffic figures began rising again, and finally in 2007 surpassed the 1987 record.

In 2005 the terminal got a major facelift adding one more gate, the glass façade, as well as the steel/fabric palms illuminated by multi-colour LEDs. The busiest time in the airport is during the summer season, as the city of Split is a major tourist destination and a very important transportation hub. Saturdays are the busiest days of the week with more than 200 aircraft operations and 25,000 passengers.

Maps Split Airport

Expansion plans

Since the beginning of the 21st century the summer peaks activity called for an expansion of the airport capacity. In 2017 major overhaul works began. When all of the expansion is done, Resnik will have a new terminal, parking area and apron. Following the extension of the terminal capacity new taxiways are planned to increase runway capacity.

The new apron was constructed in 2011 with the capacity slightly over the old one but with better security conditions. The cost of this investment was EUR13 million, and it included 34,000 m² of new parking space for aircraft, as well as the space for future administrative works below the apron. The lower level houses warehouses, workshops, offices and other objects that will support the new 35,000 m², EUR40 million terminal building that is being built next to it. Construction of the terminal was initially planned to commence in the fall of 2012 bringing the total airport capacity to 3,5 million passengers, but was delayed with construction starting in January 2017 and with the newest estimate for completion being the summer season of 2019.

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Airlines and destinations

Scheduled

Charters

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Statistics

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Ground transportation

Split Airport can be reached by car, buses, taxis or car rentals.

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References

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External links

Media related to Split airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Airport information for LDSP at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.

Source of the article : Wikipedia