Winter Flights 2025: Ambitious Expansion Plans by Croatia Airlines
Croatia Airlines has announced a major expansion of its winter flight schedule for the 2025/2026 season, effective from October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026. The expanded schedule includes a 7.7% increase in total flights, with 9,811 flights planned and more than 1.18 million seats available, marking a 21% rise in capacity compared to the previous winter season.
### Key Details of the Winter 2025/26 Flight Plans
The winter timetable will see several seasonal routes becoming year-round operations or being extended deeper into the winter, including flights from Zagreb to Berlin, Stockholm, and Barcelona. Split-Istanbul flights will be extended until November 30th, then resume for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Dubrovnik-Frankfurt flights will continue to operate three times a week, though there will be a temporary suspension during a limited period. Dubrovnik-Rome flights will also operate on Thursdays and Sundays.
Regional flights linking Rijeka, Osijek, and Zadar with Munich will continue operating throughout winter. Domestic flights will also run on routes connecting Zagreb with Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, and Zadar, as well as intra-Croatia flights such as between Pula and Zadar.
The expanded schedule is supported by the largest-ever fleet renewal for Croatia Airlines, including the introduction of modern Airbus A220 aircraft, designed to improve operational efficiency and passenger comfort.
### Suspensions and Seasonal Adjustments
While most expanded routes will run throughout the winter, the Dubrovnik-Frankfurt route will experience a temporary suspension over a limited period during the winter season to better match demand. Croatia Airlines is also reducing the frequency of its winter flights in 2025 on the domestic Zagreb-Dubrovnik route from 22 to 20 weekly flights.
### Fleet Upgrade
The fleet renewal project includes the delivery of two more new A220 aircraft by the end of this year, bringing the total number of A220 aircraft in the Croatia Airlines fleet to five. The fifth aircraft, with a capacity of 149 seats, will be used for new seasonal routes from Zagreb to Hamburg, Bucharest, Milan, Madrid, and Prague, starting next week.
The entire Croatia Airlines fleet renewal project is expected to be completed in 2027, with the fleet consisting of 15 new A220 aircraft, including 13 A220-300s and two A220-100s.
Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines is planning to upgrade its summer seasonal route between Dubrovnik and Frankfurt to year-round operations.
This strategic effort by Croatia Airlines aims to reduce seasonality, increasing year-round connectivity with more flights, new and expanded routes, and enhanced fleet capabilities. This positions the airline as a crucial link between Croatia and Europe throughout winter, supporting tourism and business travel beyond the traditional summer peak.
The expansion of Croatia Airlines' winter flight schedule for 2025/2026 offers travelers increased opportunities for exploring new destinations, with the addition of year-round flights from Zagreb to Berlin, Stockholm, and Barcelona, as well as seasonal routes to Hamburg, Bucharest, Milan, Madrid, and Prague. This lifestyle change comes with improved passenger comfort, as the airline's largest-ever fleet renewal includes the introduction of modern Airbus A220 aircraft designed for operational efficiency.
