Airlines at Zagreb Airport (ZAG): Current Carriers and Routes

Last updated: May 24, 2026. Airline list and 2026 new routes cross-checked against the official Zagreb Airport site, Wikipedia, FlightsFrom, and EX-YU Aviation News.

Airlines flying from Zagreb Airport in 2026

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG) is Croatia's busiest airport and the country's main international gateway. In 2026 it handles around 18 to 20 scheduled passenger airlines, plus charter and seasonal operators, on a network of roughly 65 to 70 direct destinations. The mix is unusual for an airport its size: a national flag carrier with a small intra-Europe hub model, a major Ryanair focus city, full-service carriers from every European hub of consequence, two Gulf carriers, one Israeli operator, and a single seasonal long-haul connection to North America.

The pages on this site are organised around what travellers actually do at the airport. This is the pillar list of who flies. For ticket research, see our booking strategy for ZAG; for on-the-day specifics, see live arrivals board and live departures board; for the building, see terminal map and check-in counters.

How this list is maintained

Airline schedules change. New routes get announced, old routes get pulled, and seasonal carriers come and go between May and October. We rebuild this list against three sources: the official airline directory at zag.aero, the Wikipedia Zagreb Airport page, and route-data sites such as FlightsFrom and FlightConnections. Where those three agree, we publish the carrier. Where they disagree, we either omit the carrier or flag the uncertainty in the relevant section. The page is dated; if you are reading it months after the last-updated date, treat the smaller carriers and new-launch routes with extra caution and check the airline's own site before booking.

New routes confirmed for 2026

The freshest items at the time of writing are all summer 2026 launches. Sun d'Or, the leisure subsidiary of EL AL, launched twice-weekly Tel Aviv flights on 24 May 2026, the first new scheduled service confirmed at ZAG for the year. Ryanair announced Sofia for May 2026, taking the carrier's Bulgarian network at ZAG from zero to a regular service. Neos announced Reykjavik for May 2026, weekly on Fridays with a 737-800. Eurowings has continued to grow on the Stuttgart route. Confirm any new-launch route in the airline's own booking flow before you treat it as bookable: announced routes can slip into the next season.

Scheduled airlines at Zagreb Airport

Below, each carrier in alphabetical-ish order of importance to ZAG (hub and focus first, then full-service, then low-cost, then niche and seasonal). For each one: alliance, the relationship the airline has with ZAG, three to five sample destinations, where to find check-in and the cut-off, and one line on why a Zagreb traveller would choose this carrier. We do not list every destination on every route map; that information ages too fast to be useful.

Croatia Airlines (hub carrier)

Croatia Airlines (OU). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: hub. The flag carrier of Croatia runs the densest schedule from the airport. Sample destinations: Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, plus domestic services to Split, Dubrovnik, Pula and Zadar. Check-in counters: the largest staffed block on Level 2; confirm position via terminal map and check-in counters. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a one-stop connection through Star Alliance Europe, or a domestic hop to the coast. Live status on the live arrivals board. croatiaairlines.com.

Ryanair (focus city)

Ryanair (FR). Alliance: independent low-cost. Relationship with ZAG: focus city, with based aircraft and a deep point-to-point network. Sample destinations: London Stansted, Dublin, Brussels Charleroi, Stockholm, with Sofia from May 2026. Check-in counters: rotate through Level 2; use the airport board on the day. Cut-off: strict, see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: cheap point-to-point Europe when you can travel hand-baggage only. Self-transfer between two Ryanair flights at ZAG is doable but not protected. Live departures board. ryanair.com.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa (LH). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled daily, multiple times. Sample destinations: Frankfurt and Munich, both at high frequency with onward Lufthansa connections worldwide. Check-in counters: on Level 2; confirm via terminal map and check-in counters. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a Star Alliance long-haul itinerary that needs a reliable European hub, business travellers who want lounge access in Frankfurt, and travellers who want the safety of a connected ticket rather than self-transfer. lufthansa.com.

Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines (OS). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled daily. Sample destinations: Vienna, with onward connections across the Austrian and wider Lufthansa Group network. Check-in counters: on Level 2; check the boards on arrival. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a short Star Alliance connection to Central and Eastern Europe via Vienna, a quick business trip to Austria, or a gateway to onward LH Group long-haul if your origin city is small. austrian.com.

KLM

KLM (KL). Alliance: SkyTeam. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled multiple times daily. Sample destinations from ZAG: Amsterdam Schiphol, with onward connections across the global SkyTeam network. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; confirm position via terminal map and check-in counters. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: SkyTeam long-haul through Amsterdam, especially to North America, East Africa and Southeast Asia. Schiphol is one of the easier transfer airports in Europe if you have a tight connection. klm.com.

Air France

Air France (AF). Alliance: SkyTeam. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled daily. Sample destinations from ZAG: Paris Charles de Gaulle, with onward SkyTeam connections worldwide. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: SkyTeam long-haul to West Africa, South America and the French overseas departments; also straightforward access to Paris for a city break. CDG transfer times can be long, so allow the airline's recommended minimum if you connect. airfrance.com.

British Airways

British Airways (BA). Alliance: Oneworld. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled daily. Sample destinations from ZAG: London Heathrow, with onward Oneworld connections across the Atlantic, the Middle East and Asia. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a Oneworld itinerary to the US or Asia, business travel to London with predictable schedules, and the only Oneworld European-hub link from Zagreb apart from the Madrid codeshare route via Iberia. britishairways.com.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines (TK). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled multiple times daily. Sample destinations from ZAG: Istanbul, with onward Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance connections to roughly 340 destinations worldwide. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: long-haul to Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and increasingly the Americas through Istanbul. Often the most-connected and competitively priced single-stop option from Zagreb to many parts of the world. turkishairlines.com.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways (QR). Alliance: Oneworld. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled daily. Sample destinations from ZAG: Doha, with onward Qatar Airways and Oneworld connections across Asia, Australia and Africa. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: long-haul to Australia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and East Africa via a single Doha transfer. A regular alternative to a European hub when the SkyTeam or Star routings are inconvenient or expensive. qatarairways.com.

Aegean Airlines

Aegean Airlines (A3). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: seasonal scheduled, with year-round service in recent years. Sample destinations from ZAG: Athens, with onward Aegean and Star Alliance connections across Greece, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a Star Alliance routing into Greece, a one-stop to the Greek islands via Athens, or onwards into the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of the Middle East. aegeanair.com.

Air Serbia

Air Serbia (JU). Alliance: SkyTeam. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled. Sample destinations from ZAG: Belgrade, with onward Air Serbia connections across the Balkans, parts of Europe, the Middle East and a small long-haul network. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: regional travel across the former Yugoslavia, a SkyTeam-codeshare option to North America via Belgrade in some seasons, and onwards to parts of the Middle East not directly served from ZAG. airserbia.com.

LOT Polish Airlines

LOT Polish Airlines (LO). Alliance: Star Alliance. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled. Sample destinations from ZAG: Warsaw, with onward LOT connections across Central and Eastern Europe and a small long-haul network from Warsaw. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a Star Alliance routing into Poland, Lithuania, the Baltics or Ukraine; a one-stop hop into Warsaw for onward LOT long-haul to North America or Asia when fares are competitive. lot.com.

Eurowings

Eurowings (EW). Alliance: independent low-cost within the Lufthansa Group. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled, with growth in 2025 and 2026. Sample destinations from ZAG: Stuttgart confirmed; other German points have rotated in and out by season. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: low-cost direct routes into Germany without the full Lufthansa price tag, particularly to secondary German cities not served by Croatia Airlines or Lufthansa. eurowings.com.

flydubai

flydubai (FZ). Alliance: independent, codeshare partner of Emirates. Relationship with ZAG: schedule has fluctuated; confirm current operation before booking. Sample destinations from ZAG when operating: Dubai, with onward Emirates and flydubai connections across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a low-cost-feel direct connection to Dubai when scheduled, with through-baggage and onward Emirates options under the codeshare. flydubai.com.

Pegasus Airlines

Pegasus Airlines (PC). Alliance: independent low-cost. Relationship with ZAG: scheduled. Sample destinations from ZAG: Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, with onward Pegasus connections across Turkey and parts of the Middle East. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a cheaper alternative to Turkish Airlines for direct travel to Istanbul, with the trade-off of using Sabiha Gökçen rather than Istanbul Airport. A solid choice for a city break in Istanbul on a budget. flypgs.com.

EL AL Israel Airlines

EL AL Israel Airlines (LY). Alliance: independent. Relationship with ZAG: intermittent seasonal scheduled; confirm operation in the EL AL booking flow before treating as a current route. Sample destinations when operating: Tel Aviv, with onward EL AL connections across the Middle East and a small long-haul network. Check-in counters: on Level 2; security for EL AL flights is tighter than standard, so arrive earlier than the usual check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a direct connection to Tel Aviv when scheduled. elal.com.

Sun d'Or (new for 2026)

Sun d'Or (9X). Alliance: independent, leisure subsidiary of EL AL. Relationship with ZAG: new scheduled, launched 24 May 2026 as the first new ZAG route of the year. Sample destinations: Tel Aviv, twice weekly. Check-in counters: on Level 2; security for Israel-bound flights is tighter than standard, so allow extra time on the usual check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: a leisure-priced direct option to Tel Aviv. New routes can slip schedules in the first season, so confirm in the booking flow. sundor.co.il.

Air Transat (seasonal, North America)

Air Transat (TS). Alliance: independent, partnerships with WestJet and others outside the three groups. Relationship with ZAG: seasonal scheduled, typically May to October. Sample destinations from ZAG: Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau, with onward Air Transat and partner connections across Canada. Check-in counters: in the departures hall on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: the only scheduled long-haul non-stop service from Zagreb in 2026, and the only practical way to reach Canada without a European hub transfer. airtransat.com.

Trade Air (Croatian charter and scheduled)

Trade Air (C3). Alliance: independent. Relationship with ZAG: Croatian carrier with a focus on charter, ACMI and limited scheduled operations. Sample destinations: rotates through scheduled and charter routes; Osijek and seasonal leisure points have featured. Check-in counters: on Level 2; check the boards on the day. Cut-off: see check-in cut-off by airline. Useful for: occasional scheduled domestic services, charter group bookings, and tour-operator packages where Trade Air provides the aircraft. trade-air.com.

Airlines by alliance

Alliance membership matters for two practical things at ZAG: lounge access and through-bookings. The Primeclass and lounge access page covers which airlines admit you on which credentials, and fast-track security covers priority lane eligibility (some of it status-based through alliances).

Star Alliance carriers at ZAG

Croatia Airlines (hub), Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Aegean Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines all carry the Star Alliance brand at Zagreb. EgyptAir reaches Zagreb on codeshare with Croatia Airlines rather than a metal flight, but counts as Star Alliance for through-booking and Primeclass lounge eligibility. Star Gold status holders on any of these carriers can use the Primeclass lounge on a same-day Star itinerary, regardless of cabin. This is the largest single alliance footprint at the airport, reflecting the Croatia Airlines hub role.

SkyTeam carriers at ZAG

KLM, Air France and Air Serbia carry the SkyTeam brand at Zagreb. SkyTeam Elite Plus status holders on any of these carriers can use the Primeclass lounge on a same-day SkyTeam itinerary. Together, KLM and Air France give Zagreb a strong long-haul connection picture through Amsterdam and Paris CDG, with Air Serbia adding a regional Balkan-network option. The SkyTeam transatlantic offer from ZAG is generally one-stop via Amsterdam or Paris, with Delta and Virgin Atlantic onward across the ocean.

Oneworld carriers at ZAG

British Airways and Qatar Airways are the two Oneworld metal carriers at Zagreb. Iberia is reachable through a Madrid codeshare and connection rather than as a direct ZAG operator. Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire status holders can use the Primeclass lounge on a same-day Oneworld itinerary. Oneworld is the smallest of the three alliance footprints at ZAG by destination count, but BA and QR cover London Heathrow and Doha respectively, which are two of the best long-haul connection airports anywhere.

Carriers outside the three alliances

Ryanair, Eurowings and Pegasus are the major independent low-cost carriers. EL AL and its leisure subsidiary Sun d'Or, flydubai and Air Transat are independent full-service or leisure operators with their own codeshare and partner relationships outside the three groups. Trade Air is a Croatian carrier focused on charter and ACMI. The independent carriers do not give you alliance lounge access, but several have their own paid or contract programs (DragonPass, Diners Club, LoungePair) that admit you to Primeclass regardless of carrier.

Direct routes from Zagreb in 2026

The headline shape of the ZAG route map in 2026: a dense intra-European network of roughly 60-plus direct points, a couple of Gulf hubs, two Tel Aviv carriers, one seasonal Iceland summer route, and the only scheduled long-haul from Zagreb (Air Transat, summer only, Canada). The full official destination list is on the airport site; below is the practical summary by region.

European routes

Around 60 direct European destinations from ZAG in 2026, including all the major hubs (Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris CDG, London Heathrow, Vienna, Madrid via codeshare, Zurich, Istanbul, Athens), the Ryanair point-to-point base (London Stansted, Dublin, Brussels Charleroi, Stockholm, Milan Bergamo, Memmingen, and Sofia from May 2026), and a long tail of leisure and regional cities (Skopje, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Pristina, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Reykjavik from May 2026, plus various seasonal beach and ski destinations).

Middle East and North Africa

Three confirmed Middle East gateways from ZAG: Istanbul (Turkish Airlines and Pegasus), Doha (Qatar Airways) and Tel Aviv (Sun d'Or from May 2026, with EL AL on intermittent scheduled service). Dubai has been served by flydubai in some seasons; confirm current operation in the booking flow before treating it as a 2026 route. North Africa is reached on one stop via Istanbul, Doha or a European hub; there is no direct ZAG service to Cairo, Casablanca, Tunis or Marrakech in 2026.

North America (seasonal)

Air Transat operates the only scheduled long-haul non-stop from Zagreb in 2026, with a summer-only service to Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau. The route typically runs May through October. Outside that window, Canada is one-stop via Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Istanbul or Doha. There are no scheduled non-stop flights between Zagreb and the United States at any time of year.

Routes Zagreb does not have

No direct flights to the United States, ever. No direct flights to mainland China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa or South America. No direct flights to Australia or New Zealand. The Air Transat Canada route is the only intercontinental non-stop on the schedule. Anything outside Europe, the Levant, the Gulf and Canada requires a connecting itinerary through Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris CDG, London Heathrow, Istanbul or Doha. This is the single biggest planning constraint for Zagreb travellers and the easiest thing for an online booking flow to bury.

Booking, check-in and connections by airline

Three separate questions, three separate spoke pages on this site. This section gives you the practical pointer for each.

Where to book each carrier

The simplest pattern: book full-service carriers (Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian, KLM, Air France, BA, Turkish, Qatar, LOT, Aegean) direct on the airline website unless an online travel agency genuinely beats the airline fare by enough to cover the loss of direct customer support if something goes wrong. Book low-cost carriers (Ryanair, Eurowings, Pegasus, flydubai) direct on the airline website because the fee structures are opaque enough that an OTA layer rarely helps and often hurts. For seasonal and niche operators (Sun d'Or, EL AL, Air Transat, Trade Air), book direct. For a full breakdown including OTA cases and corporate-booking notes, see our booking strategy for ZAG.

Where to find each carrier's check-in counter

The departures hall on Level 2 holds 45 staffed check-in counters. Croatia Airlines has the largest standing block; other carriers rotate through assigned counter rows day by day, so the most reliable answer to "which counter" is the overhead screen on arrival rather than a hard-coded counter number on this page. For the building layout, walking distances and where the bag-drop counters sit, see terminal map and check-in counters. For the cut-off times for each airline (these vary from 30 to 60 minutes before scheduled departure), see check-in cut-off by airline.

Connecting between two airlines at ZAG

ZAG is a compact, single-terminal airport. A through-ticketed connection between two carriers in the same alliance is straightforward and protected. A self-transfer between two separately bought tickets (especially Ryanair to a full-service onward) is doable in the same building but is not protected against missed connections, baggage transfer, or rebooking. Minimum connection time for Croatia Airlines is 45 minutes; allow more for a cross-alliance connection. For the full discussion of how connections work here and when self-transfer is sane, see transit between two airlines at ZAG.

Frequently asked questions