Split Airport

SPU originated in 1931 as a grass airfield in Sinj, with the first route operated by Aeroput (a Yugoslav airline) linking Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Sarajevo, and Belgrade. The route lasted until WWII broke out. The airport was relocated to Resnik on November 25th, 1966, with the new airport having six parking positions on the apron (expanded to ten in 1967) and a capacity of 150,000 passengers. Capacity had already been greatly exceeded within three years. In 1979 a new terminal building opened, and in 1987 the airport serviced 1.15 million passengers (the largest number at the airport before the outbreak of the Yugoslav War, which broke out in 1991). The war dropped passenger numbers to nearly zero, and in the following years, most of the traffic was from NATO and UN cargo planes. Civilian use of the airport began to rise again after 1995. The terminal was renovated in 2005, with a glass façade, a new airport entrance structure (which won awards for its steel/fabric LED illuminated “trees”), and one more gate. In 2011 a new apron was added. While it only slightly increased capacity (with 34,000 square meters of new aircraft parking space), it did improve security conditions. It also featured a new sound barrier that can be closed when an aircraft is nearby and opened when clear for unobstructed terminal views of the Adriatic Sea. In 2019 an expansion project was completed, tripling the floor space at the terminal, thereby increasing capacity to 5 million annual passengers. The original terminal building was also refurbished for use by some international departures, whereas all other movements are serviced in the new areas. Moreover, a new parking lot, bus terminal, and car rental facilities were added. Passengers can access them directly by walking on the newly built enclosed bridge that takes them over state road D409. As most airlines are low-cost carriers and the apron space is limited, no jet bridges were included in the expansion project.

The airport is located in the town of Kaštela, 12 miles from Split. 

• There are 1,000 olive trees on airport grounds. 
• Most of the traffic at SPU occurs during June, July, and August, as these are the European holiday months. 
• The FBO at SPU is Euro Jet.