Go on foot. The brutal increase in parking fees at the Croatian airport drove out the buses

“If we compare this with the price for transporting passengers by bus from the airport to the city of Rijeka, which costs around 300 euros (CZK 7,500), which includes the bus, driver, fuel, taxes and other costs, we find that entering the airport parking lot is significantly more expensive than the transport itself,” reported the portal dnevnik.hr.

Transporters who are supposed to transfer tourists from the airport located in close proximity to the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk to their hotels, refuse to drive to the airport area.

This also applies to taxi drivers: for a seasonal permit, which cost 825 euros (roughly 20,500 CZK) last year, this year they pay an almost incredible 1,800 euros (44,900 CZK). Last year, an annual subscription for shuttle and occasional transport cost 825 euros (44,900 CZK), this year it is 2,900 euros (72,300 CZK).

At the same time, these are prices that are higher than in Ljubljana, Venice and the surrounding airports. For example, at the airport in Zadar, you can take a bus to the parking lot, unload or load passengers within fifteen minutes for free.

Ice cream has never been more expensive in Croatia, locals complain

Foreign

“However, we have no other choice but to explain to our guests that they have to walk,” said travel agency owner Katarina Hauptfeldová, according to the website Novi list.

For example, he is in charge of dozens of tourists, for whom he has to provide transportation from the airport to Opatija, from where they will go on a boat cruise in the Kvarner Gulf. “We asked them to walk. That we will replace the inconvenience caused with additional services during the cruise,” said Hauptfeld.

Rijeka Airport out of offer

Some travel agencies have even stopped offering Rijeka airport to their clients due to unbearable costs. “We simply removed the airport from our offer because we cannot bear costs that are higher than the price of the transfer itself,” said Damir Nahmijas, co-owner of the travel agency.

According to Hauptfeld, Rijeka airport management “doesn’t understand their job” and should not make excuses for the poor traffic that forced them to such drastic price increases.

However, according to Hauptfeldová, the situation there is unsustainable. “Those who manage the airport do not understand their work. When the traffic is weak, it should be normal to look for all ways to intensify it. For example, to allow free parking for vehicles that transport tourists to their destinations,” she concluded.