Rijeka Airport Zračna luka Rijeka/Krk I. |
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Operator | Rijeka Airport Ltd. | ||||||||||
Serves | Rijeka | ||||||||||
Location | Omišalj, Croatia | ||||||||||
Hub for | Limitless Airways | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 278 ft / 85 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 45°13′01″N 014°34′13″E / 45.21694°N 14.57028°E | ||||||||||
Website | rijeka-airport.hr | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Location of the airport in Croatia | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Croatian Aeronautical Information Publication
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Rijeka Airport (Croatian: Zračna luka Rijeka) (IATA: RJK, ICAO: LDRI) is the international airport serving Rijeka, Croatia. It is located near the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk, 17 km from the Rijeka railway station. Most of the traffic to and from the airport occurs during the summer months, when it is used by several European low-cost airlines flying tourists to the northern parts of the Croatian coast.
Rijeka airport opened in May 1970. The first plane to depart carried Josip Broz Tito and his wife.
Before the Second World War Rijeka was divided between Yugoslavia and Italy. The Yugoslav part of the city was served by the airfield in Sušak. Domestic airline Aeroput opened a route linking Sušak to Zagreb in 1930, and a year later a route linking Zagreb to Belgrade via Sušak, Split and Sarajevo was opened. By 1936 Aeroput linked the city to Belgrade, Borovo, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Split and Zagreb. The Italian part of the city was connected to many Italian cities with regular flights provided by Italian company Ala Littoria.
The Grobnik airport had difficulty with larger planes, as its runways were close to the hills to the east of the city. With larger airliners coming on board, planners decided on a location on Krk after considering locations close to Opatija and near Urinj, which would have required moving some hills.