According to Ex Yu Aviation, Croatia Airlines is set to sharply scale back its Zagreb–Skopje operations from January through the end of the 2025/26 winter season in late March. After updating its schedule last week, the carrier now intends to run five weekly flights between the two capitals during most of the first quarter, a substantial cut from the initially planned eleven weekly services. The adjustment also results in a year-on-year decline, with the schedule reduced by two to six flights per week, depending on the month. In December, frequencies will also be trimmed, though more moderately, averaging nine weekly rotations instead of the scheduled eleven, with slight week-to-week variations.
The route will continue to be served by a combination of Airbus A220-100 and A220-300 aircraft, as originally envisioned. In the first quarter, flights to Skopje will mainly operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Croatia Airlines had previously planned to offer double-daily services on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Overall, the airline will provide 21,246 seats on the route during Q1, far below the 37,851 seats initially scheduled—an overall 43.9% reduction. Capacity will also be 11.3% lower than in the same period of 2025.
In the first six months of the year, Croatia Airlines transported 27,443 passengers on the Skopje route, marking a 3.9% increase. Capacity had been raised with the introduction of the A220-300 on select rotations, replacing Dash 8 Q400 turboprops and adding 3,719 extra seats between Zagreb and Skopje. However, the average cabin load factor deteriorated, sliding to 49.6%. Despite offering 9.6% more seats compared to the first half of 2019, passenger numbers are still around 10% below pre-pandemic levels.