Aviation History
Croatian civil aviation modernized around Croatia Airlines, founded in 1989 (initially as Zagal) and renamed after the country's first free elections in 1990; it became independent Croatia's flag carrier in 1992 with jet service to Frankfurt. The carrier joined Star Alliance in 2004, and Croatia's 2013 EU accession folded its aviation market into the European single sky. The state-majority-owned airline is currently mid-way through a fleet renewal from Airbus A319/A320s to Airbus A220s.
Established on 7 August 1989 and began operating a single Cessna 402 the following month, the carrier was the seed of what became Croatia Airlines.
Following Croatia's first democratic multi-party elections, the airline was renamed Croatia Airlines in June 1990.
On 5 April 1992, shortly after Croatian independence, the airline launched its first international route to Frankfurt.
Croatia Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A320 (named 'Rijeka'), beginning a long-term Airbus narrowbody fleet standard.
Croatia Airlines became a member of Star Alliance on 18 November 2004, its main international alliance affiliation.
Croatia's EU accession integrated its aviation sector into the European single aviation market and regulatory framework.
Croatia Airlines received its first A220-300 in July 2024 as part of a planned renewal of up to 15 aircraft by 2026, replacing its older A319/A320 fleet.
An A220-300 aborted takeoff and left the runway at Split in May 2026; all passengers and crew were reported unharmed. Investigation details were still developing as of this writing.
Croatia Airlines
Wikipedia, Croatia Airlines corporate history, aviation trade press (Simple Flying, AirlineGeeks)
Aviation Firsts
Zagreb (Crnomerec / Borongaj predecessor sites) — Zagreb (1909): Earliest documented aviation activity in Croatia: an airfield near Crnomerec from 1909; airport moved to Borongaj airfield in 1928, with passenger service beginning 15 February 1928; moved again to Lucko (a former military airbase) in 1947; today's Zagreb Airport opened at the Pleso site in 1962. Every historic Croatian airfield checked (Zagreb's Crnomerec/Borongaj, Split's Sinj grass airfield used from 1931, Dubrovnik's Gruda airfield opened 1936, Rijeka's pre-WWII Susak airfield) was abandoned or relocated during the 20th century, so there is no single airport that is both 'first' and still operating on its original site. · Wikipedia ↗
No single source converges on one 'oldest airport in Croatia' claim. By earliest documented civil/commercial aviation activity, the answer is Zagreb (1909 airfield / 1928 passenger service at Borongaj) — but that site is long defunct. Among currently-open Croatian airports, none (Pleso 1962, Dubrovnik 1962, Split 1966, Rijeka 1970) has a sourced claim distinguishing it as 'oldest' over the others. Reported as an open contest rather than a resolved winner.
Croatia Airlines (1989): Established 7 August 1989 as 'Zagal - Zagreb Airlines'; began operations 18 September 1989 with a single Cessna 402; renamed Croatia Airlines on 23 June 1990; launched first international service in 1992 as flag carrier of newly independent Croatia. No Croatian-based airline predating 1989 was found. The Yugoslav state airline Aeroput (founded 17 June 1927, headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia) was the first airline to operate scheduled flights to/from Croatian cities (first flight to Zagreb 15 February 1928; a Belgrade-Sarajevo-Split-Susak-Zagreb route from 1931), but as a Yugoslav/Serbian-based state company it is not 'Croatia's' airline — it is reported here only as context for the honest 'true first airline to serve Croatia,' not as a competing national claim. · OU ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Havaş (Turkey), 2022: Havaş (Turkish, part of the TAV/Çelebi-adjacent group) acquired MZLZ Ground Handling Services, the sole existing ground handler at Zagreb Airport (~500 employees, ISAGO-certified), in 2022 (reported Summer 2022), becoming Zagreb's sole GH provider. No source explicitly calls this "Croatia's first foreign GH entrant," but it is the first dated foreign-company GH entry found after Swissport/dnata/Menzies/Çelebi/WFS all came back silent on Croatia specifically. (best-documented candidate found — not source-confirmed as literally first.) · Havaş ↗