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 ...

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

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

. 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

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 –

–

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 **

–

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 *

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.

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

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links