Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Zadar Airport lies in Zemunik Donji, close to the Adriatic coast a few kilometres east of Zadar, and is unusual among Croatian airports in having two full-length runways. It combines scheduled and charter airline traffic with a role as a Croatian Air Force training base, and its long ILS-equipped runway makes it a straightforward and interesting destination for visiting simulator pilots.
Zadar Airport (ICAO LDZD, IATA ZAD) serves the city of Zadar on Croatia's Dalmatian coast and is operated as an international civil airport while also functioning as a main training base for the Croatian Air Force. It is the fourth busiest airport in Croatia and is notable for being the only Croatian airport with two runways, giving it a distinctive layout for a field of its size. For a simulator pilot it offers a coastal Adriatic approach, a long ILS runway, and a mix of airline and military training traffic.
The airport sits at Zemunik Donji, roughly 7 to 8 kilometres east of the centre of Zadar, on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. It is a controlled aerodrome with its own approach and tower services.
Zadar has two paired runways. The longer is runway 13/31, a hard-surfaced runway of 8202 feet with lighting and an ILS on runway 13. The second is runway 04/22, a hard-surfaced runway of approximately 6566 to 6567 feet, also lit. Field elevation is 262 feet.
Approach is available on 118.6 MHz and Tower on 123.7 MHz. Runway 13 is equipped with an ILS, giving instrument approach capability into the airport's longer runway.
Zadar has a long aviation history: as early as 1936, when the city was part of the Italian Province of Zara, it had regular commercial flights operated by Ala Littoria. The airport later grew into Croatia's fourth largest international airport. It was formerly a base for Lufthansa's InterCockpit flight school and remains a main training base for the Croatian Air Force. The airfield was once one of only a few in the world where a taxiway crossed a public road; that road was closed in 2010 as part of terms negotiated during Croatia's EU accession, and an underpass was built to reopen it in 2020. In April 2013 Zadar became a Ryanair base, with a Boeing 737-800 stationed there.
Zadar Airport today operates daily scheduled and charter services to numerous European destinations, with airlines including Ryanair, easyJet, Arkia and Edelweiss, and it continues to expand its network, having recently welcomed Wizz Air services. Alongside civil airline operations, it remains a main training base for the Croatian Air Force.