Ryanair announces biggest-ever Croatia summer schedule with 118 routes

Ryanair

ZAGREB, 18 February 2026 – Ryanair has today unveiled its largest-ever summer schedule for Croatia, marking a significant boost for the country’s tourism and connectivity ahead of the 2026 season.

The record-breaking schedule will see nine aircraft based in Croatia – representing a US$900 million investment – operating 118 routes across seven Croatian airports.

The expansion includes two new routes from Dubrovnik to Budapest and Gdansk.

The Irish low-cost carrier will offer 4.3 million seats, representing growth of five per cent compared to the previous year, and operate more than 850 weekly flights. The expanded programme is expected to support over 3,500 jobs across the country.

Ryanair’s operations in Croatia include three bases – Dubrovnik, Zadar and Zagreb – alongside services at four additional airports.

The airline says the expansion reflects Croatia’s strong post-Covid recovery, underpinned by competitive airport charges which have enabled carriers to restore and grow capacity. As a result, Croatia has benefited from increased traffic and the development of year-round tourism.

Ryanair noted that competitive costs have allowed it to reallocate capacity from higher-cost EU markets such as Austria, France and Germany, where aviation taxes and elevated airport charges have slowed recovery and constrained growth.

2026 Summer Schedule Highlights

Ryanair’s Croatia Summer 2026 schedule will deliver:

• 9 based aircraft (US$900 million investment)
• 4.3 million seats (+5% growth)
• 118 routes, including two new services from Dubrovnik to Budapest and Gdansk
• Over 850 weekly flights
• Support for more than 3,500 jobs in Croatia

While welcoming Croatia’s progress, Ryanair has called on the Croatian Government to remove what it describes as the outdated Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) tax, arguing that it unnecessarily increases access costs for passengers.

The airline suggests that this charge could be offset by reducing public service obligation (PSO) subsidies on a limited number of routes. According to Ryanair, such reforms would help maintain Croatia’s position as a competitive and attractive market for future aviation investment.

To celebrate Ryanair’s record Summer 2026 schedule in Croatia, Ryanair has launched a limited 3‑day seat sale with fares from just €29.99 only on the Ryanair app.

Speaking from Zagreb, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness said:

“As Europe and Croatia’s No.1 airline, Ryanair is pleased to announce our biggest‑ever Croatia Summer schedule, delivering 4.3 million seats (+5% growth), operating 118 routes – including exciting new routes from Dubrovnik to Budapest and Gdansk. This record schedule is underpinned by 9 based aircraft (US$900M investment) across our 3 bases in Dubrovnik, Zadar, and Zagreb, and delivers vital year-round connectivity for Croatia’s citizens and visitors, while supporting over 3,500 jobs.

Croatia continues to achieve strong traffic and tourism growth thanks to its competitive access, which have enabled Ryanair to expand low‑fare connectivity for Croatian citizens and visitors and tackle the issue of seasonality across the country. These competitive conditions have allowed Croatian airports to benefit from the reallocation of capacity from high-cost markets such as Austria, France and Germany.

However, to unlock further growth and investment from airlines, Croatia must maintain this competitive advantage. Ryanair calls on the Croatian Govt. to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on a handful of PSO routes and instead use the money to abolish the outdated CAA Tax which unnecessarily increases costs for airlines and passengers on all routes. This measure would continue to strengthen Croatia’s position as an attractive, pro‑growth market, supporting increased year-round connectivity, tourism, employment, and economic development across the country.

To celebrate our record Summer 2026 schedule, Ryanair is launching a 3‑day seat sale with fares from just €29.99, available exclusively on the Ryanair app.”