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Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport (ZAG): flight delays and compensation

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

Live at Zagreb (ZAG) today

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About the airport

Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport (ZAG) serves Zagreb, Croatia. On the routes Eurostat reports, 3,874,347 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 99th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Dubrovnik.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Zagreb – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom ZAGReturn
Frankfurt FRA295,469735 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS234,0861,099 km€250€250
Istanbul IST219,8181,134 km€250€250*
Dubrovnik DBV216,579395 km€250€250
Munich MUC215,113435 km€250€250
Split SPU159,963246 km€250€250
Paris CDG154,5011,079 km€250€250
London STN148,8631,341 km€250£220
Vienna VIE119,395266 km€250€250
Rome FCO109,509534 km€250€250
London LHR108,7721,368 km€250£220
Malta MLA103,1281,108 km€250€250
Brussels CRL95,7241,008 km€250€250
Basel BSL85,531684 km€250€250
Zurich ZRH81,943605 km€250€250
Dublin DUB80,8871,812 km€400€400
Warsaw WAW79,850798 km€250€250
Milan BGY75,642494 km€250€250
Málaga AGP70,9361,986 km€400€400
Copenhagen CPH66,8211,124 km€250€250
Belgrade BEG63,016347 km€250€250*
Skopje SKP60,325612 km€250€250*
Weeze NRN60,271976 km€250€250
Paris BVA58,8301,123 km€250€250
Sarajevo SJJ56,248278 km€250€250*
Madrid MAD54,9081,692 km€400€400
Stuttgart STR52,377612 km€250€250
Brussels BRU51,3341,029 km€250€250
Gothenburg GOT50,3441,350 km€250€250
Karlsruhe FKB50,209690 km€250€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Franjo Tuđman (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 25,740 flights arrived at ZAG; 9 of them were held back this way, 7 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.02 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • accident/incident70%
  • weather30%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 8 June 2025 – 293 minutes, mostly accident/incident; 18 December 2025 – 125 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 19,178 arrivals, 0.00 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025).

Check what happened at ZAG on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (30% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 25,740 arrivals at ZAG in 2025; 9 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 7 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was accident/incident (70%); weather accounted for 30%.
  • The worst day was 8 June 2025, with 293 minutes of flow delay, mostly accident/incident.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport?

    Yes. ZAG is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman International Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.