Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport

ZAG originated in 1909 when the first airfield was built near the neighborhood of Črnomerec. In 1927 Aeroput (the Yugoslav flag carrier) was created, and the airport was relocated to Borongaj. The airport was serviced by several European airlines, although most of the traffic was handled by Aeroput. After WWII, commercial services were moved in 1947 to a former military airbase near the village of Lučko. At this time, JAT Yugoslav Airlines (which replaced Aeroput) made ZAG its second hub. In 1962, the airport moved again to its current location at Pleso (southeast of Lučko), opening with an 11,000-square-foot terminal and an 8,200-foot-long runway. A new 54,000-square-foot terminal opened in 1966, and the runway was lengthened in 1974 to 10,669 feet. ZAG was the second-busiest airport in Yugoslavia in the 1980s, with connections from New York, Chicago, and Toronto via JAT (using McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft). During the Croatian War of Independence, ZAG became the scene of a fight between the Yugoslav People’s Army and Croatian armed forces when a Boeing 707 carrying weapons for the Croatians was forced to land by Yugoslav MiGs (fighter jets). Although the Croatians attacked the control tower and blockaded the airport, the Yugoslav forces could take control of the jet and fly it out. Later during the war, the airport became a UN hub for getting food and medical supplies to war-torn Croatia and Bosnia. Following the war, passenger numbers began to rise, forcing an infrastructure upgrade, starting with installing a CAT-IIIb instrument landing system in 2004. A new VIP terminal was completed in 2008 and expanded to 167,000 square feet, including extra amenities, restaurants, and bars. The terminal received another refurbishment in 2010, including a viewing platform with a bar. The ZAIC consortium received a 30-year concession to operate the airport on April 12th, 2012. This included designing, financing, and constructing a new terminal to replace the old one. The new 750,000-square-foot terminal opened on March 28th, 2017, with a capacity of 5.5 million annual passengers and a cost of 236 million euros. The runway, initially designated as 05/23, was redesignated 04/22 on February 27th, 2020, because of a change in magnetic declination. In July 2021, Ryanair opened a base at ZAG, with three Airbus A320-200 aircraft based at the airport and flights to 26 new destinations.

The airport is located in Velika Gorica, 6.2 miles southeast of Zagreb Central Station. 

• The main base of the Croatian Air Force is also on the premises. 
• The airport is named after Franjo Tuđman, the first President of Croatia. 
• There is a general aviation terminal at ZAG. FBOs include Zagreb International Airport GAT, Flystar, Euro Jet Intercontinental, Sky Style VIP Aviation Services, and Universal Aviation.