Split Airport - History

History

The airport was opened on 25 November 1966. The apron had dimensions of only 200 x 112m and 6 parking positions with a planned capacity of 150,000 passengers. In 1968 passenger numbers stood already at 150,737, and in 1969 at 235,000. In 1967 the apron was extended for the first time, to accommodate 10 aircraft. The much larger new terminal building was built and opened in 1979 to accommodate traffic for a major sporting event (the 8th Mediterranean Games) held in Split in September, when also another extension to the apron was built. The largest pre-war passenger numbers were achieved in 1987, totalling 1,151,580 passengers and 7,873 landings.

In 1991 the passenger figures dropped almost to zero, as the war broke out in former Yugoslavia. In the years that followed, most of the traffic were NATO and UN cargo planes, such as the C-5 Galaxy, MD-11, Boeing 747 and C-130 Hercules. After 1995 the civilian traffic figures started rising again, and finally in 2007 surpassed the 1987 record. In 2005 the terminal got a major facelift, adding one more gate, the glass facade, as well as the steel/fabric palms illuminated by multi-color LEDs. Now the airport is mostly used during the summer time, as the city of Split is a large tourist destination. Saturdays are the busiest days of the week, with over 100 landings and 20,000 passengers.

The first phase of current extension plans was completed on September 2, 2011 when Croatia's ex-Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor inaugurated latest extension of the airport's apron ramp.