August the 15th, 2025 – Multiple airlines, including easyJet, Aeroitalia, Volotea and Wizz Air want to introduce new Croatia flights.
As Sinisa Malus/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the government of the autonomous region of Sardinia in neighbouring Italy has launched a public call for tenders to subsidise flights from the island’s three airports – Alghero, Cagliari and Olbia. Those flights would connect the airports to 67 destinations, including Zagreb and Dubrovnik. The local authority is targeting flights from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of Sardinia, to two destinations in Croatia.
Airlines have until August the 22nd to submit their interest. According to official documents, easyJet, Volotea, Wizz Air and Aeroitalia have already expressed interest in participating, although it is not specified for which routes. There are currently no flights between Sardinia and Croatia, according to Ex-Yu Aviation.
The aim of the public call is to improve Sardinia’s connectivity with the rest of Europe and beyond, including the United States. The idea is to carry that out by subsidising air routes considered important for regional development and tourism. Airlines that win the tender will receive financial support covering up to 50 percent of air fares on both departure and arrival. The call includes 33 destinations from Cagliari, nineteen from Alghero and fifteen from Olbia.
Ryanair is currently the largest airline between Croatia and neighbouring Italy, responsible for 47 percent of all flights between the two countries during the summer. It is followed by easyJet with 19 percent of the market and Vueling with 14.8 percent. Other airlines operating between the two countries include Croatia Airlines, Volotea and SkyAlps.
Zagreb and Zadar are the most connected airports in all of Croatia with airports across Italy, each connected to six destinations in that neighbouring country. These include Milan Bergamo, Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Naples, Palermo and Pisa from Zagreb, as well as Milan Bergamo, Bologna, Bari, Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Pisa from Zadar. The unstoppable and highly affordable Ryanair also boasts a base at Cagliari Airport.
The only airport in the former Yugoslavia currently connected to Sardinia is Belgrade, with Air Serbia launching seasonal flights to Alghero earlier this year.
The desire for multiple airlines to launch new Croatia flights poses even more promise to Croatian tourism as the country grapples with balancing its incredible popularity and more sustainable tourism practices.
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