Flight Simulator Flights at LDPL Pula Airport

Pula Airport (LDPL) is a large civil aerodrome on Croatia's Istrian peninsula, serving the city of Pula and the wider Istria region including the Brijuni National Park. It offers a single long hard-surfaced runway with ILS, making it a straightforward and interesting destination for simulator pilots flying into the northern Adriatic coast.

Overview

Pula Airport lies close to the city of Pula on the Istrian peninsula in northwestern Croatia, and is designated as an alternative airport for parts of Slovenia. For a simulator pilot it offers a long, ILS-equipped runway set against the Adriatic coastline and the Istrian countryside, with a mix of scheduled and seasonal holiday traffic that gives the field a lively character in the summer months.

Airspace & Location

The airport sits at coordinates 44.8935N, 13.9222E, at an elevation of 220 feet, around 6 kilometres from Pula city centre on the Istrian peninsula. It serves as the principal air gateway to Istria, including the Brijuni National Park, and is used as an alternative airport for parts of neighbouring Slovenia.

Runways

Pula has a single physical runway, 09/27, of 9,640 feet with a hard surface, lit for night operations. Runway 27 is equipped with an ILS approach.

Radio & Navigation

Pula Approach operates on 118.4 MHz and Pula Tower on 120 MHz. The field is served by an instrument landing system on runway 27, supporting instrument approaches into the airport.

History

Pula Airport occupies a site that was originally used solely for military purposes before being converted to civilian use on 1 May 1967. Passenger traffic grew steadily over the following decades, reaching 701,370 passengers in 1987, the same year that work began on a new terminal building; the terminal was completed in 1989 with a capacity of one million passengers per year. The airport has since become the fifth busiest in Croatia, with traffic showing a strong seasonal pattern reflecting its role as a gateway for holiday travellers to Istria.

The Airfield Today

Pula Airport remains an active international airport handling both domestic and international flights, with passenger numbers continuing to grow: it welcomed 554,247 passengers in 2025, an increase of nearly 45,000 on the previous year. The airport has a single terminal building with a capacity of one million passengers annually; aircraft are handled on stands without jet bridges, with passengers walking or being bused to and from the terminal. Traffic is markedly seasonal, driven mainly by holiday travel to Istria and the Brijuni islands.