We hope the occupancy rate will be high, notably during the summer season because Croatia is a popular tourist destination and a beautiful country in which there is interest in many countries, Emirates representative Thierry Antinori told reporters, noting that the airline did not plan to introduce other flight services in the region for the time being.
He added that Zagreb was Emirates' 39th destination in Europe.
Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, who had travelled to Dubai so that he could be on this inaugural Emirates flight, was among the passengers on the six-hour flight that landed at Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman Airport.
"Emirates' flights from Zagreb to Dubai and vice versa will transport Croatians and numerous other passengers from the region and distant destinations in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East faster and simpler, which also provides an opportunity for the development of new business relations between Croatia and that part of the world," Cappelli said, adding that his flight was pleasant and the service was excellent.
Cappelli, too, announced cooperation with Emirates on remote markets, which he described as offering great potential for the Croatian tourism.
Zagreb International Airport CEO Jacques Feron, too, expressed satisfaction with the new flight service, noting that the landing of the broad-fuselage Boeing 777-300EU was completed without any problems.
This year we recorded the one millionth passenger earlier than ever before and we believe that Emirates flights will contribute to new records this year, Feron said, adding that Zagreb International Airport expected to record around 3 million passengers by the end of this year, around 200,000 more than in 2016.
Emirates expects an average occupancy rate on daily Zagreb-Dubai flights of some 250 passengers.