European Coastal Airlines was a
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
operator headquartered in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
. Founded in 2000, the company launched scheduled services in August 2014
and served domestic flights within Croatia as well as services to nearby
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
The company slogan was ''We connect Croatia!'' The airline ceased all operations in 2016.
History
The company was established in September 2000, by the Croatian company Obalna Kapitalna Ulaganja d.o.o. from Zagreb, Croatia, and European SeaPlane Service (ESPS) GmbH, from
Landsberied, Germany.
The airline flew promotional flights using a restored vintage
Grumman Goose
The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and i ...
in 2000. The ''
Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the cit ...
'' daily reported in August 2002 that the company had acquired licences to land at 25 destinations around the Croatian Adriatic, including the
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...
harbour.
According to Croatian law, seaplane operations must obtain licences from both the local civil aviation and maritime authorities, along with
concessions normally required for all businesses along the coast, in addition to special permits issued by the
Harbormasters’ offices for each harbour they wish to use.
In the early 2000s, the project was put on hold, but was re-launched in 2007 when they were joined by a Croatian investor.
In August 2014, the company won the necessary permits to launch scheduled services connecting
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
and
Jelsa on the island of Hvar on 27 August 2014. On 6 October 2014, the company started scheduled flights between
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
and the island of
Rab
Rab âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.
The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...
, but the service was suspended through the winter and resumed in April 2015.
In July 2015, European Coastal Airlines signed a 10-year concession contract for building and operating water terminal in
Port of Split
The Port of Split ( hr, Luka Split) is a port in the central Dalmatian city of Split, Croatia. The port was originally a trading post originally established by Greek settlers from the island of Vis and subsequently taken over by the Romans. The ...
after intervention from Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs Transport and Infrastructure
Siniša Hajdaš Dončić
Siniša Hajdaš Dončić (born 29 June 1974) is a Croatian politician and member of the center-left Social Democratic Party. From 17 June 2009 until 19 April 2012 he served as Prefect of the Krapina-Zagorje County, and from 19 April 2012 to 22 Ja ...
. Scheduled services started from the downtown terminal on 10 August 2015.
The first trans-Adriatic routes between Croatia and Italy began in November 2015 with four weekly flights between
Split downtown and
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
and also between
Rijeka Airport
Rijeka Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Rijeka, it, Aeroporto di Fiume; ) 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 tr ...
and
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
.
The airline was grounded in August 2016 when its
AOC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...
was temporarily withdrawn by the
Croatian Civil Aviation Agency, apparently due to safety concerns. As a result of ongoing legal discussions, the airline suspended all operations and cancelled 130 jobs. In December 2016, the CEO announced that operations would resume in 2017. As of February 2017, the company's website and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page hasn't been updated with any new information and no flights were resumed by the end of July.
On 2 May 2017, the Commercial Court in Split initiated a pre-bankruptcy procedure at the request of the company filed on 18 April 2017.
Destinations
![9A-TOA wiki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/9A-TOA_wiki.jpg)
European Coastal Airlines operated services to the following scheduled destinations ():
;Ground terminals:
*Croatia
**
Mali Lošinj
Mali Lošinj ( it, Lussinpiccolo, vec, Lusinpicolo) is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, on the island of Lošinj, in western Croatia. At the time of the 2011 census, there were 8,116 inhabitants, of whom 86% were Croats.
The favourab ...
–
Lošinj Airport
Lošinj Airport is a privately owned public airport 3.2 nautical miles (5.9 km) from Mali Lošinj on the island of Lošinj, Croatia. It is registered for domestic and international traffic.
Overview
The runway is 900 m long and 30 m wide, ...
**
Rijeka –
Rijeka Airport
Rijeka Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Rijeka, it, Aeroporto di Fiume; ) 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 tr ...
**
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...
–
Zadar Airport
Zadar Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Zadar; ) is an international airport serving Zadar, Croatia. It is located in Zemunik Donji, from the centre of Zadar.
History
As early as 1936, Zadar (then part of the Italian Province of Zara) had regular ...
*Italy
**
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
–
Marche Airport
Marche Airport ( it, Aeroporto delle Marche) , formerly ''Ancona Falconara Airport'' ( it, Aeroporto di Ancona-Falconara), is an airport serving Ancona and the Marche region of central Italy. The airport is located approximately west of Ancona, ...
**
Pescara
Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
–
Abruzzo Airport
Abruzzo Airport is an international airport serving Pescara, Italy. It is located approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) from the centre of Pescara, about 180 km (112 miles) from Rome, a 2-hour drive by car on a motorway across the Apennine ...
;Water terminals:
*
Split Airport
Split Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Split; ), also known as Resnik Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Resnik), is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located from Split, on the west side of Kaštela Bay, in the town of Ka ...
(Water terminal) base
*
Split Seaport
*
Jelsa
*
Lastovo
Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 p ...
*
Lumbarda
Lumbarda ( it, Lombarda) is a village and a municipality located on the eastern tip of Korčula in Croatia, seven kilometers away from the town of Korčula. A road passing through a picturesque area of pine woods and olive groves connects these t ...
*
Pula
*
Rab
Rab âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.
The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...
*
Vela Luka
Vela Luka (, it, Vallegrande) is a small town and a municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is located on the western side of the island of Korčula at the bottom of a wide bay which has many indented cove ...
Fleet
The European Coastal Airlines fleet included the following aircraft (as of June 2016):
* 4
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The aircraft are fitted with Wipline 13000 floats; Two are capable for water and ground landing (amphibian): 9A-TOA and 9A-TOB, the other two only of water landing (floats): 9A-TOC and 9A-TOE.
See also
*
List of seaplane operators
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Defunct airlines of Croatia
Defunct seaplane operators
Airlines established in 2014
Airlines disestablished in 2016
2016 disestablishments in Croatia
Croatian companies established in 2000
Croatian companies established in 2014
Airlines established in 2000