# Pula Airport

Pula Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Pula; Italian: Aeroporto di Pola; IATA: PUY, ICAO: LDPL) is the international airport serving the city of Pula, in northwestern Croatia, and is located 6 km from the city centre. It served 777,568 passengers in 2019. The airport is designated as the alternative airport for parts of Slovenia. It serves as a major access point to the city of Pula-Pola, as well as most of Istria, most notably Brijuni-Brioni national park.

## History

Pula Airport at its current location was initially used only for military purposes but it was changed to a civilian airport as of 1 May 1967 and saw 701,370 passengers in 1987. In the same year, works on a new terminal building began and were completed by 1989 with a capacity of 1 million passengers per year. The Croatian War of Independence has caused a sharp decline in passenger numbers. The airport saw a steady increase in passenger volume over the next 3 decades, surpassing the previous record set in 2018. As most passengers flying to or from Pula airport are holiday makers, flight numbers have a significant seasonal character.

## Facilities

Pula Airport has a single terminal building with a capacity of 1 million passengers per year. The airport serves both domestic and international flights. Inside the terminal there are a couple of café/snack bars as well as duty-free shop. None of the gates are equipped with jet bridges but rather the passengers walk from the terminal building to the aircraft or are transferred by bus. Because of its location and fairly good weather conditions all year around, as well as lower flight numbers during the winter months, it is frequently used by European carriers for training flights.

## Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Pula Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| Air Serbia | Seasonal: Belgrade |
| Croatia Airlines | Zadar, Zagreb Seasonal: Zürich |
| Discover Airlines | Seasonal: Frankfurt (begins 31 March 2025) |
| EasyJet | Seasonal: Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin, Bristol, Glasgow, London–Gatwick, London–Luton |
| Edelweiss Air | Seasonal: Zürich |
| Eurowings | Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Stuttgart |
| FLYYO | Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv |
| Jet2.com | Seasonal: Birmingham (begins 2 May 2025), East Midlands (begins 24 May 2026), London–Stansted (begins 3 May 2025), Manchester (begins 2 May 2025) |
| Lufthansa | Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda |
| Play | Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík (begins 31 May 2025) |
| Ryanair | Seasonal: Charleroi, Gothenburg (begins 2 June 2025), Katowice, London–Stansted, Memmingen, Poznań, Vienna, Weeze |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo |
| Trade Air | Osijek, Split |
| Transavia | Seasonal: Rotterdam/The Hague |
| TUI Airways | Seasonal: Birmingham, London–Gatwick, Manchester |
| TUI fly Nordic | Seasonal charter: Gothenburg, Stockholm–Arlanda |

## Statistics

Traffic at Pula Airport :
| Year | Passengers | Change | Aircraft movements | Change |
| 2013 | 351,196 | 4,4% | 7,292 | 2,2% |
| 2014 | 382,992 | 9,1% | 7,106 | 2,6% |
| 2015 | 359,426 | 6,2% | 6,954 | 2,1% |
| 2016 | 436,121 | 21,3% | 7,692 | 10,6% |
| 2017 | 595,812 | 36,5% | 9,288 | 20,7% |
| 2018 | 718,187 | 20,53% | 10,076 | 8,4% |
| 2019 | 777,568 | 8,26% | 10,428 | 3,49% |
| 2020 | 83,502 | 89,26% | 4,464 | 57,19% |
| 2021 | 270,035 | 223,38% | 8,124 | 81,98% |
| 2022 | 395,178 | 46,34% | n/a | n/a |
| 2023 | 424,000 | 7.29% | n/a | n/a |

## Climate

Since records began in 1978, the highest temperature recorded at the airport's weather station at an elevation of 83 metres (272 ft) was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F), on 5 August 2017. The coldest temperature was −10.3 °C (13.5 °F), on 8 January 1985.

## Ground transportation

The airport can be reached by a dedicated bus line from the centre of Pula which goes to/from the airport ("Zračna luka Pula") and the Pula central bus terminal ("Bus Kolodvor"). The schedule is adjusted on a monthly basis to meet the flights arrival/departure.

## Incidents and accidents

* On 2 August 2009, a private Piper PA-46-310P Malibu, from Frankfurt to Pula failed to extend its nose gear for landing. After several tries it ran out of fuel and landed on its main landing gear. When it landed, the nose of the airplane touched the runway and stopped, which resulted in substantial damage. There were no injuries reported among the five passengers.
* On 21 September 2011, the left main gear on a private Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage collapsed after it made a 180 degree turn to line-up with the runway. The runway was closed for three hours as a result. The plane received minor damage and there were no injuries reported among the four passengers in the aircraft.
* On 31 March 2023, a German-registered Flight Design CTSW crashed during takeoff killing both occupants.