Ryanair Holdings has announced it will open a new base at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman airport, starting on September 1, 2021, and operated by its Maltese unit, Lauda Europe (LW, Malta International).

The Irish low-cost carrier, which does not currently serve the Croatian capital, said it will launch the first two routes to Zagreb, from Brussels Charleroi and Milan Bergamo, in early June and July 2021, respectively. Both will be operated with B737-800s based at each of the respective airports.

As of September 1, 2021, Lauda Europe will base two A320-200s out of Zagreb, launching routes to:

The carrier said the base would create 60 new jobs in Zagreb.

Ryanair will be the first large-scale low-cost holding not just to base aircraft out of Zagreb but even to serve the Croatian capital, besides Eurowings.

The airline also announced it would reactivate its summer seasonal base at another Croatian airport, Zadar, on July 1, 2021. Using two A320-200s operated by Lauda Europe, it plans to launch a total of 17 new routes from the coastal city, including to:

Compared to Zagreb, Zadar faces far more competition from other LCCs, including easyJet, Vueling Airlines, Eurowings, and Transavia Airlines, the ch-aviation capacities module shows. All of them serve the city on a seasonal basis.