Croatia is hopeful in Europe's reopening

Photo by Pascal Weste | AeroNewsX

As Europe starts emerging out of lockdown, some countries have begun to open up their airports for the summer tourism season. Among these, Croatia, a popular summer destination for European holidaymakers, recorded one of the lowest passengers declines compared to the year 2019. The first half of 2020 showed a 52% decrease in passenger traffic, the lowest in the Balkan region, and the second-lowest in Europe overall.

Croatia is highly dependent on tourism as it makes up nearly a quarter of its GDP. Because of this, the country opened up borders for tourists since the beginning of June, which allowed for air travel to the coast to resume swiftly. The largest coastal airport, Split (SPU), has seen 23,000 passengers in just one weekend. This represents about a third of last year’s traffic, but considering the worldwide health situation, these numbers are encouraging.

As Europe continues opening up, we can only hope air travel will slowly start growing again, albeit with masks and hand disinfectant. Airlines have been taking numerous precautions to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spreading on one of their flights. Some airlines are blocking middle seats while others are intensely cleaning the aircraft after all flights. These precautions allow for a reduced risk of contracting COVID but do not eliminate the possibility.