Last updated: May 25, 2026. 2025 traffic figures, the 2026 route schedule and current transport fares cross-checked against the official airport site (zag.aero), Croatian aviation statistics and ZET on this date.
What Zagreb Airport Looks Like Right Now
The encyclopedic detail lives on the deeper pages of this site. The snapshot below is the 2026 state of play: who operates the airport, who flies from it, what the building is, and how you reach it. Anything here that needs more depth has its own page linked.
Who runs the airport and how big it is in 2026
Zagreb Airport is operated under concession by MZLZ (Međunarodna zračna luka Zagreb), a consortium led by Groupe ADP. The concession runs to roughly 2042 and covers both terminal operations and the runway side. 2025 was a record year: 4,721,564 passengers, up 9.4% on 2024, an extra 404,945 travellers over the prior year. Aircraft movements totalled 51,664 (up 3.4%) and cargo throughput was 12,408 tons. Autumn 2025 carried the growth as much as summer: September was up 11.4%, October 10.8% and November 7.8%. The single passenger terminal has a stated design capacity of around 5 million passengers per year, so 2025 traffic puts ZAG noticeably close to the ceiling and the gap is the central operational question for the next 18 to 24 months.
Airlines and routes in 2026
Around 18 to 20 airlines fly scheduled services from ZAG in 2026 to roughly 65 to 70 direct destinations. Croatia Airlines is the flag carrier and hub airline; Ryanair is the largest low-cost operator and runs Zagreb as a focus city with based aircraft. All three global alliances are represented: Star Alliance through Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian, Turkish and Aegean; SkyTeam through KLM, Air France and Air Serbia; Oneworld through British Airways and Qatar Airways. Sun d'Or (the El Al subsidiary) opened a twice-weekly Tel Aviv link on May 24, 2026, and Neos started a weekly Friday Reykjavik service in May 2026. Most other 2026 growth comes from frequency increases on existing routes rather than new destinations. For the full carrier-by-carrier breakdown, see our airlines flying from Zagreb guide, and flight booking and routes for sample routes by region.
The terminal as it stands today
One passenger terminal serves every commercial flight at ZAG. It opened on March 28, 2017, replaced the much smaller 1960s building on the same site, and was designed by Croatian architects Branko Kincl, Velimir Neidhart and Jure Radić. The building covers around 65,800 m² across three functional levels, with 45 check-in counters, 23 passport control booths, 3 baggage carousels, 8 jet bridges and additional bus boarding gates for remote stands. Schengen gates are 1 to 7 and non-Schengen gates are 8 to 11. In practice, 2026 traffic fills the building during the morning and evening departure peaks and quiets between 11:00 and 14:00. For floor-by-floor detail, see our terminal layout and airport map pages.
How to actually get there
Five practical options cover the trip between ZAG and central Zagreb. Bus 290 (ZET) is the cheapest at about €1 from the Tisak kiosk, 35 to 45 minutes to Kvaternikov trg. The Pleso Prijevoz shuttle runs to Autobusni kolodvor for around €8 to €9 in 25 to 35 minutes. Taxis from ZAG run €30 to €45 walk-up at the rank, or €20 to €25 via the Cammeo and Eko apps. Bolt and Uber both operate at the airport with fares around €25 to €35. Rental cars are available from every major desk in arrivals. For the side-by-side comparison see our airport transfers and transport page, and parking at ZAG for tariffs and the off-site operators.