Ryanair to reveal Croatia strategy as tourism board allocates €3.3 million to airlines
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness, will hold a press briefing in Zagreb this morning to lay out the low-cost carrier’s plans for the upcoming summer season in Croatia. McGuinness is slated to speak to reporters at the Sheraton Hotel at 10:00 local time. To date, the airline has announced two new summer routes from Croatia—connecting Dubrovnik with Budapest and Katowice—and will also boost frequencies on several existing services, mainly from its Zagreb base. This event follows a related briefing in Budapest yesterday, where Ryanair confirmed the deployment of an eleventh aircraft in the Hungarian capital and the launch of five new routes, all of which had been disclosed previously.
The press conference carries extra weight as it marks the approach of the fifth and final year of Zagreb Airport’s Growth Incentive Model, the program that enabled Ryanair to establish a base in Croatia’s capital in 2021 and which concludes this summer. As such, McGuinness is anticipated to outline Ryanair’s growth plan for Zagreb beyond the current incentive framework. For the 2026 summer season, Ryanair is forecast to offer 4,231,554 seats in the Croatian market, up 3.8% from last year (an additional 155,146 seats). Flight operations are due to rise by 3.3% to 22,662 movements.
The Croatian National Tourist Board announced yesterday that it has approved €3.3 million in marketing cooperation agreements with strategic partners, including airlines, tour operators, and other transport providers. Recipients include Ryanair, easyJet, Eurowings, the Lufthansa Group, United Airlines, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Jet2Holidays, and TUI. Support for airline partnerships rose by 30% this year, enabling the addition of five new airlines and broader route networks aimed at boosting year‑round connectivity. A notable development is the strengthened collaboration with United Airlines, which will see seasonal flights launched between Newark and Split, supplementing the existing Dubrovnik route.
We’ll keep you posted as more details emerge throughout the day.
