Split Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Split; IATA: SPU, ICAO: LDSP), also known as Resnik Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Resnik), is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located 19 km (12 mi) from Split, on the west side of Kaštela Bay, in the town of Kaštela, and extending into the adjacent town of Trogir.

Split Airport Zračna luka Split
IATA: SPU ICAO: LDSP
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Split Airport Ltd.
Serves	Split/Kaštela/Trogir
Location	Kaštela, Croatia
Hub for	Croatia Airlines
Focus city for	easyJet Wizz Air
Elevation AMSL	78 ft / 24 m
Coordinates	43°32′20″N 016°17′53″E
Website	www.split-airport.hr
Map
SPU Location of the airport in Croatia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 2,550 8,366 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 3,301,930 5.69%
Statistics from Split Airport site[1] General information from Split Airport site[2] Source: Croatian Aeronautical Information Publication[3]

In 2019, the airport was the second busiest in Croatia after Zagreb Airport handling 3.3 million passengers.[4] The airport was the busiest in Croatia in 2021 handling 1.57 million passengers, surpassing Zagreb Airport for the first time. It is a major destination for leisure flights during the European summer holiday season and an important seasonal base for Croatia Airlines that offers flights to European cities such as Athens, 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.[5][6] These flights connected Split either by its Divulje seaplane station, or by the Sinj airfield.[5]

In the sixties, the airport was relocated from Sinj to Resnik. The new airport complex, designed by architect Darko Stipevski (Tehnika, Zagreb), 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.[7]

A new larger terminal building designed by architect Branko Gruica (Projektant, Mostar) was constructed and opened in 1979 to accommodate traffic for the 8th Mediterranean Games held in Split in September of that year.[8] The largest pre-war passenger numbers were achieved in 1987 totalling 1,151,580 passengers and 7,873 landings.[7]

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.[7]

In 2005, the terminal got a major facelift by architect Ivan Vulić (VV-Projekt, Split) 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.[9][10]

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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14] New apron features an unusual sound barrier on the south side which can be closed when an aircraft is close by and opened in all other times to allow for fairly unobstructed view of the Adriatic sea from the terminal building.

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.[15]

On the grounds of the airport there are some 1000 olive trees.^{[citation needed]}

Expansion (2019)

Due to significant increase in passengers numbers, especially during the summer months, an expansion project was completed in summer of 2019, adding more than three times the floor space of the original terminal building and increasing the capacity to 5 million passengers per year. Original terminal has been refurbished and is still being used for some international departures, while check in, all domestic departures as well as both international and domestic arrivals including baggage claim is located in the new areas.

As a part of the expansion project, an enclosed bridge was built over the state road D409, taking passengers to the newly built parking lot, bus terminal and rental car facilities.

Decision not to include any jet bridges in the new expansion has been justified because of limited apron space as well as the fact that majority of the airlines at the airport are low cost carriers.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Split Airport:

Statistics

Traffic at Split Resnik Airport[1]

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	498	7.14
2015	1,955,400	11.57	551	10
2016	2,289,987	17.11	631	15
2017	2,818,176	23.1	747	18
2018	3,124,067	10.85	823	10
2019	3,301,930	5.69	866	5
2020	669,702	79.61	273	68
2021	1,577,584	233.93	n/a	n/a
2022	2,832,639	79.56	n/a	n/a

Traffic at Split Resnik Airport in 2021/2022 by month[1]

Month	Passengers 2021	Passengers 2022	Passenger % Change
January	7,753	20,400	163.12
February	6,125	19,678	221.27
March	8,477	32,445	282.74
April	14,783	133,316	801.86
May	33,695	251,341	645.92
June	116,596	422,418	262.29
July	352,857	641,626	81.84
August	494,241	625,622	26.58
September	328,886	444,086	35.03
October	162,475	241,350	48.55
November	27,128
December	24,568

Transport links

Bus

Split Airport can be reached from Split (and Trogir, where indicated) by public buses:

• Promet line no. 37 (Split-Airport-Trogir and Trogir-Airport-Split), terminating at the Sukoišan bus terminal in Split (about 10 minutes walking from the old town, and 20 minutes from the main bus/railway station), departing every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays[58]
• Promet line no. 2 (Split-Strinje-Airport)[59]

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 (15 July – 30 September) and with lower frequency through October.[60][61] Another line connecting the airport two additional times daily with Split harbour and Bol on Brač island is available from June to mid-September.[62]

Rail

The airport is linked onto the Split suburban railway with a Promet bus line running eight times daily between the nearest train station (Kaštel Stari) and the airport with a joint ticket.[63][64]

According to Split city administration plans, starting from 2025–6 the Split suburban railway will be extended to the airport.

References

External links

Media related to Split Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

На других языках

[de] Flughafen Split

[es] Aeropuerto de Split

[fr] Aéroport de Split

[it] Aeroporto di Spalato-Castelli

[ru] Сплит (аэропорт)