Franjo Tu?man Airport, also known as Zagreb Airport (IATA: ZAG, ICAO: LDZA), is the largest and busiest international airport in Croatia. In 2017 it handled around 3.1 million passengers and some 12,000 tons of cargo.
Named after Franjo Tu?man (1922-1999), the first President of Croatia, the airport is located some 10 km (6.2 mi) south-east of Zagreb Central Station at Velika Gorica. It is the hub for the Croatian flag carrier Croatia Airlines as well as Trade Air. A base of the Croatian Air Force is located within the airport complex, in barracks called "Colonel Marko ?ivkovi?". An administrative centre of the Croatian Air Traffic Control is also situated on the grounds of the airport.
The airport was awarded to the ZAIC consortium (Zagreb Airport International Company) in a 30-year concession under the terms of a contract signed by the Government of Croatia with the aforementioned. The contract includes the financing, designing and construction of a new passenger terminal which was completed in March 2017. For the purpose of managing the airport ZAIC registered a company called MZLZ d.d. (Me?unarodna zra?na luka Zagreb d.d.) that is now the operator of the Airport.
Video Zagreb Airport
History
The history of Zagreb civil aviation began in 1909 when the first airfield was built close to the western city neighbourhood (city district) of ?rnomerec.
With the creation of the first Yugoslav flag carrier Aeroput in 1927 the airport was relocated to the Borongaj airfield in 1928 which began serving the ever-growing number of passengers on 15 February of that year. Although several European airliners connected the city it was mostly Aeroput which connected Zagreb to major destinations across Europe and thus significantly increased traffic at Zagreb in the period preceding the Second World War.
Following Word War II commercial services were moved to a former military airbase near the village of Lu?ko south-west of the city in 1947. JAT Yugoslav Airlines took the role of Aeroput and made Zagreb its second hub. At its peak in 1959 Lu?ko served 167,000 passengers.
The current location of the airport at Pleso in the south-east of Lu?ko opened in 1962 with a 2,500 m (8,200 ft) long runway and 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) terminal. By 1966 Zagreb Airport got a new 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art passenger terminal. The runway capacity was lengthened to its current 3,252 m (10,669 ft) in 1974.
In the 1980s Zagreb Airport was the second largest in Yugoslavia by passenger and aircraft movements. Yugoslav flag-carrier JAT maintained a hub in Zagreb and connected the city to numerous destinations including New York, Chicago, Toronto which inevitably had a major impact on air traffic at Zagreb during that period.
Following an increase in passenger numbers and the necessity to upgrade its infrastructure the airport installed a CAT-IIIb instrument landing system (ILS) in 2004.
In 2008 a new VIP terminal was added and the terminal extended for extra amenities, restaurants and bars. The terminal was expanded to 15,500 m2 (167,000 sq ft)
By 2010 the old terminal has been nearing its maximum annual capacity. That year the passenger terminal received a major face lift in the course of which a viewing platform with a bar was added.
On 12 April 2012 the ZAIC (Aeroports de Paris) consortium received a 30-year concession for the airport from the Government of Croatia. The concession includes financing, designing and constructing a new passenger terminal. The construction of a brand new 70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft) terminal facility designed by Neidhardt architects of Zagreb and carried out by Bouygues Bâtiment International in partnership with Viadukt began on 18 December 2013 with the aim to replace the old terminal. It now has an initial annual capacity of 5.5 million passengers in the first phase and was officially completed in October 2016. The official inauguration of the terminal was on 28 March 2017. ZAIC now operates the entire airport for 30 years including the runways, the current passenger terminal, the cargo terminal, car parks and all future property developments. The concession contract involves a total investment of around EUR324m (£259m): EUR236 million for the design and construction of the new terminal and EUR88 million for operation of all airport infrastructure for the entire period of the concession.
Maps Zagreb Airport
Terminal
The current terminal building was opened to the public on 28 March 2017. It stretches over 65.800 square metres on three levels featuring three baggage carousels, 8 air bridges, 9 security checkpoints, 30 check-in desks, 23 passport control booths and a car park with the capacity of 1.100 vehicles. Furthermore the new apron has three remote stands next to the terminal, while 23 stands at the old passenger building are also used during the peak season. Each of the aircraft parking positions at the facility includes a visual docking guidance system which gives information to a pilot on how to park their aircraft. The terminal itself features a large 600 square metre duty-free shop operated by Aelia, 16 cafés, bars, restaurants and snack bars.
Enough space has been left for 30 additional check-in counters and 2 baggage carousels to be added once the new terminal reaches its current maximum capacity of 5 million passengers. Further extensions envisaged along the thirty-year concession period will potentially see expanding current apron from present 100 000sqm to 300 000sqm and terminal capacity increased to eight million through gradual expansion of the terminal in four Phase 2 expansions.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Ground transportation
Public transportation
Airport is connected with city center of Zagreb by bus route number 290 operated by Zagreba?ki Elektri?ni Tramvaj.
Statistics
Traffic
Busiest routes
Busiest airlines
References
External links
Media related to Zagreb Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website of operator
- Accident history for ZAG at Aviation Safety Network
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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