Split Airport opens new terminal

The newly expanded and renovated terminal at Split Airport has opened on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Split Airport’s new 450 million kuna terminal took two and a half years to complete and has the capacity to handle more than 3 million passengers per year. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and several of his ministers, who are on a visit to Split Dalmatia, attended Saturday’s opening. The PM said it was a major upgrade for Croatia’s air travel infrastructure.

“This is a significant project with a value of 450 million kuna, financed by the airport itself and loans from the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The contractors were all Croatian companies - Kamgrad, KFK, Viadukt - and that goes for many subcontractors as well,” Plenković said, underscoring that the project was started and completed during his government’s term in office.

The new building has a curved glass ceiling set on a lattice of wooden panels. The director of Split Airport, Lukša Novak, praised the aesthetics of the buling.

“This is an exceptional work of architecture and I think we are going to be proud of it for a long time in the future,” he said.

As far as passenger traffic was concerned, Novak said the airport expected to see an increase of 8% this year.

“Today, on opening day, we had 30 thousand passengers. We expect 700 thousand this month,” he said.

Split Mayor, Andro Krstulović Opara, said Split was having a very good tourism season, despite the fact that some other Croatian destinations were experiencing a slow-down in growth.

“We've seen a 10 percent increase in visitors and a 14 percent increase in overnights in June. Since the start of the year, there has been a 13 percent rise in visitors and a 12 percent increase in overnights. That's not something everyone can brag about,” he said.