January 27 (SeeNews) - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said on Thursday it will operate this summer a record-high 27 routes to and from Zagreb, including 13 new ones, and over 70 weekly flights.
“Ryanair is investing in Croatia to help recover its tourism industry post Covid and strengthen connectivity to the rest of Europe as Ryanair continues to grow and air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels,” Lauda Europe CEO David O'Brien, speaking on behalf of the Ryanair Group, said in a statement. Lauda Europe is Ryanair's Austria-based subsidiary.
The new summer routes are Naples, Basel, Paphos, Bratislava, Lviv, Malaga, Corfu, Rome Fiumicino, Malta, Dublin, Manchester, Thessaloniki and Eindhoven.
Last summer, Ryanair opened its first Zagreb base to support strong demand to and from Croatia.
Whilst other airlines are shrinking, Ryanair said it is the only airline in Europe adding capacity in significant volume in Croatia. Its growth is being fuelled by the delivery of 67 new Gamechanger Aircrafts, delivering 40% lower noise emissions, 16% lower fuel emissions, and 4% more seats before the start of summer 2022, it added.
Tourism is a key industry for the Croatian economy, contributing a fifth of the country's GDP.