Split Airport, also known as Resnik Airport, is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located from Split, on the west side of Kaštela Bay, in the town of Kaštela, and extending into the adjacent town of Trogir. In 2019 the airport was the second busiest in Croatia after Zagreb Airport handling 3,3 million passengers. It is a major destination for leisure flights during the European summer holiday season and an important focus city for Croatia Airlines that offers flights to European cities such as Frankfurt, London and Paris.
History
The first grass airfield was located in Sinj and the first commercial route was opened in 1931 by the Yugoslav airline Aeroput. It linked Zagreb with Belgrade through Rijeka, Split and Sarajevo, and maintained this route until the start of the Second World War. These flights connected Split either by its Divulje seaplane station, or by the Sinj airfield. In the sixties, the airport was relocated from Sinj to Resnik. The new airport complex, designed by architect Darko Stipevski, was opened on 25 November 1966. The apron had dimensions of only 200 x 112 m and 6 parking positions with a planned capacity of 150,000 passengers. In 1968, passenger numbers already stood at 150,737 and in 1969 at 235,000. In 1967, the apron was extended for the first time to accommodate 10 aircraft. A new larger terminal building designed by architect Branko Gruica was constructed and opened in 1979 to accommodate traffic for the 8thMediterranean Games held in Split in September of that year. The largest pre-war passenger numbers were achieved in 1987 totalling 1,151,580 passengers and 7,873 landings. In 1991, the passenger figures dropped to nearly zero, as the war in the former Yugoslavia broke out. In the years that followed, most of the traffic were NATO and UN cargo planes, such as the C-5 Galaxy, MD-11, Boeing 747 and C-130 Hercules. After 1995, the civilian traffic figures began rising again, and eventually surpassed the 1987 record in 2008. In 2005, the terminal got a major facelift by architect Ivan Vulić adding one more gate, the glass façade, as well as the award-winning Airport entrance structure consisting of steel/fabric "trees" illuminated by multi-colour LEDs. The new apron designed by Ivan Vulić, Ivan Radeljak and Mate Žaja was constructed in 2011 with a capacity slightly over the old one but with better security conditions. The cost of this investment was €13 million leading to 34,000 m2 of new parking space for aircraft as well as space for future administrative works below the apron. The lower level houses warehouses, workshops, offices and other objects that will support the new 34,500 m2, HRK 455 million terminal building that is being built next to it. The airport's busiest time are the months of June, July and August due to a large influx of tourists for the European summer holiday period. Weekends are the busiest part of the week with more than 200 flights and some 50,000 passengers.
Expansion plans
Since the beginning of the 21st century the summer peaks activity called for an expansion of the airport capacity. Construction of the terminal was initially planned to commence in the fall of 2012 bringing the total airport capacity to 3.5 million passengers. Construction started in January 2017 and was completed on 13 July 2019. When all of the expansion is done, Resnik will have a new terminal, parking area and apron. Following the extension of the terminal capacity, new taxiways are planned to increase runway capacity.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
Year
Passengers
Passenger % Change
Cargo
Cargo % Change
2000
540,603
n/a
1,452
n/a
2001
568,625
5.18
1,214
16.39
2002
617,005
8.51
956
21.25
2003
698,128
13.15
931
2.62
2004
778,771
11.55
981
5.37
2005
934,049
19.94
877
10.6
2006
1,095,852
17.32
1,459
66.36
2007
1,190,551
8.64
1,482
1.58
2008
1,203,778
1.11
1,081
27.06
2009
1,115,099
7.37
688
n/a
2010
1,219,741
9.38
630
n/a
2011
1,300,381
6.61
619
n/a
2012
1,425,749
9.64
577
n/a
2013
1,581,734
10.94
450
28.81
2014
1,752,657
10.81
406
7.14
2015
1,955,400
11.57
405
n/a
2016
2,289,987
17.11
346
n/a
2017
2,818,176
23.1
294
n/a
2018
3,124,067
10,85
273
n/a
2019
3,301,930
5,69
273
n/a
Month
Passengers 2019
Passengers 2020
Passenger % Change
January
36,360
36,739
1,04
February
34,825
26,294
24,5
March
50,037
16,466
67,09
April
156,381
6
99,99
May
310,809
2,777
99,11
June
513,706
26,150
94,91
July
723,048
August
672,261
September
470,102
October
247,172
November
45,871
December
41,357
Transport links
Bus
Split Airport can be reached from Split by public buses:
Promet line no. 37, terminating at the Sukoišan bus terminal in Split, departing every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
Promet line no. 2
The airport is also easily reachable by shuttles, taxis or private cars. Numerous car rental companies are available on the site.
Ship
A catamaran service between the Airport and Split harbour is available every 90 minutes in the peak tourist season and with lower frequency through October. Another line connecting the Airport two additional times daily with Split harbour and Bol on Brač island is available from June to mid-September.
Rail
The airport is linked onto the Split suburban railway with a Prometbus line running eight times daily between the nearest train station and the airport with a joint ticket. According to Split city administration plans, starting from 2025–6 the Split suburban railway will be extended to the airport.
