New air routes reshape Southeast Europe’s flight network
The new season of airline expansion has already begun, although summer 2027 is still months away. Zagreb has established a connection with Beijing, Dubrovnik and Split are increasing the number of winter operations, easyJet is entering Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time, and Tivat and Ljubljana are receiving several new European routes.
Interestingly, growth is no longer limited to just a few weeks of the peak summer season. At the same time, airlines are expanding their winter flight schedules and are already opening sales for the spring and summer of 2027.
Air China connects Zagreb and Beijing
The biggest Croatian novelty arrived at the beginning of September. On September 4, Air China launched the Beijing–Bucharest–Zagreb route, thereby connecting the Croatian and Chinese capitals for the first time with scheduled air traffic. The flights are operated three times a week by an Airbus A330-200 with 265 seats.
An interesting detail is that Air China has the right to sell tickets between Bucharest and Zagreb. Passengers who continue towards Croatia undergo border formalities in Romania, while the connection takes about three hours.
For Croatian tourism, the importance of the line goes beyond simply increasing capacity. China is one of the world's largest broadcasting markets, and easier access to Croatia can help bring back organized groups and individual travelers from Asia. Membership in Star Alliance by Air China and Croatia Airlines also creates additional potential.
Croatia is trying to extend the season
Changes are also visible in the Adriatic.
Air Serbia is converting the Belgrade-Dubrovnik route into a year-round one. During the winter of 2026/27, three flights a week are planned with the ATR 72-600 aircraft. Dubrovnik thus becomes Air Serbia’s third Croatian destination with flights throughout the year, alongside Zagreb and Split.
Croatia Airlines is going in a similar direction. Split–Istanbul will remain active for the first time all winter with three weekly flights, while Zagreb–Stockholm will also operate throughout the winter season. The line between Zagreb and Madrid will continue until January 16, 2027, and after a two-month break it will return on March 15.
It is precisely these changes that may be more important than individual new summer routes. A larger number of winter rotations hotels, agencies and DMC's gives more space for the promotion of Croatia outside the traditional period from May to October.
Pula, Split and Dubrovnik are already full for 2027.
The first announcements for the summer of 2027 confirm that interest in the Croatian coast remains strong.
On June 2nd, Transavia launches a new seasonal route Amsterdam–Pula. In June, it will operate twice a week, and from July, three times a week, with an Airbus A321neo with 232 seats. The flights are scheduled until the beginning of October.
SkyUp is opening two new routes from Kijev. Split will get two weekly flights starting on June 5, while operations to Pula will begin on June 13, also twice weekly.
Dubrovnik will further strengthen its access to the British market. Jet2 will launch a route from London Luton starting May 7, 2027, with flights on Tuesdays and Fridays until October 29. This is one of five new routes the carrier is adding from its London base for summer 2027.
easyJet enters Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time
A major change is coming to Sarajevo as well. easyJet will launch flights from Geneva and Basel during the 2027 summer season, marking its first entry into the Bosnia and Herzegovina market.
It is particularly interesting that the carrier is simultaneously strengthening its presence in Tivt. For the summer of 2027, new connections from Amsterdam, Basel, Birmingham and Edinburgh have been announced.
For Montenegro, the expansion into the British market is particularly interesting. Birmingham and Edinburgh bring additional direct access to a market that already has strong leisure demand along the Montenegrin coast.
Ljubljana gets TUI and Berlin again
Ljubljana enters the new season with several important changes. TUI Airways plans flights from Düsseldorf and Brussels for the summer of 2027, which will be the first regular TUI operations to the Slovenian capital.
At the same time, Berlin is also returning. easyJet will resume flights between Berlin and Ljubljana from April 7, after a seven-year hiatus, with a two-week rotation.
For the Slovenian market, the return of direct connections to major European broadcasting markets is one of the most important topics. After the departure of Adrija Airways, Ljubljana has been trying for years to make up for part of the lost network, so every new carrier has a somewhat greater weight than at airports with a more developed airline base.
Belgrade gets its first regular connection with Yerevan
A new destination is also arriving in Belgrade. From December 15, FlyOne Armenia plans two-week flights between Yerevan and Belgrade with Airbus A320 aircraft.
Erevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia, a country in the southern Caucasus between Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The new route brings the first regular nonstop connection between the capital cities of Serbia and Armenia.
Although this is a significantly smaller market than London, Amsterdam or Beijing, these routes show another direction in the development of regional aviation: the expansion of networks to the markets of the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia, alongside the traditional focus on Western Europe.
The latest announcements thus create a broader picture of a market that is gradually maturing. Croatia is getting more year-round operations and long-haul capacities, Sarajevo is attracting a new large low-cost carrier, Tivat continues to build a strong seasonal network, and Ljubljana is restoring connections that it had lacked for years.
The most important move for the tourism industry may not actually be number of new routes, Rather than a calendar. More and more lines start in March, April and May, and finish only at the end of October or move into the winter flight schedule. Such availability could be one of the prerequisites for a more serious reduction in the seasonality of tourism throughout the region.
