Zagreb LDZA

Zagreb is definitively airport to be avoided. While landing and parking are cheap, handling is total ripoff. Basic handling is €80 but they charge you €50 each direction of van transfer to GA terminal and back (walking distance 100m). Adding VAT (25%) total handling is €225. i haven’t been there for a while and being softened with warm greetings, I forgot about that van transfer scam. Lesson learned – read PIREPs (including your own ones) before you go anywhere.

I went there instead of my base airport LDVA because I departed LIMW late afternoon (not to lose a day of skiing and to avoid bad weather on Monday and Tuesday which would prevent departure) and landed at night. For the money I spent on this handling I could’ve stayed in Aosta for 2 more days.

Once more: AVOID LDZA!!! Unfortunately, that’s the only option if you need to travel to Zagreb from abroad (and you need instrument approach). There are two small airfields in the vicinity (LDZL and LDZR) but it’s hard to organize immigration and customs there. Once Croatia joins Schengen, these two will be good GA options for day VFR with 20 and 30 min taxi ride to city center.

My base LDVA is 1 hour driving from Zagreb (it’s all highway and there’s no much traffic even during summer high season) and it’s super easy to organize immigration and customs but if you need to go to Zagreb, public transport is not so well choice while rental car can be arranged. Also, there are plans to get instrument approach and lighting soon.

Emir wrote:

While landing and parking are cheap, handling is total ripoff. Basic handling is €80 but they charge you €50 each direction of van transfer to GA terminal and back (walking distance 100m). Adding VAT (25%) total handling is €225. i haven’t been there for a while and being softened with warm greetings, I forgot about that van transfer scam. Lesson learned – read PIREPs (including your own ones) before you go anywhere.

So just in case, you can refuse the van and walk so as to pay “only” 80€ for handling?

Mooney_Driver wrote:

So just in case, you can refuse the van and walk so as to pay “only” 80€ for handling?

Yes, plus VAT which is then €100 in total.

I was in Zagreb last week.
I tried to use the Emir’s advice and checked with Zagreb Lucko LDZL. Schengen works, it would be no problem to come to LDZL from Czech Republic. Unfortunately, it is not possible to get fuel there, both the AIP and my call to the airport confirmed that.
So, I went to LDZA. Here is what I paid:

• landing 30 Eur and parking 3.50 Eur
• GAT ferry flight arrival 50 Eur and GAT ferry flight departure 50 Eur, even when I did not use the van. The handling person told me she must charge that.
• Standard General Aviation handling 100Eur. Seems it was uplifted from the 80 mentioned in the previous post.
• 25% VAT on top of that.
  Also, I was requested to wear the yellow vest when walking between my aircraft and the GAT.

Interesting. Landing is cheap; the rest isn’t…

I saw your report on our airport database. Reminds me of London Gatwick EGKK from about 20 years ago. Landing £80. Handling £500.

So people who run LDZA went few steps further in direction of being total a$$holes: increasing handling prices and making GA terminal usage mandatory. Previously they didn’t charge it if you just passed, especially if you were crew only.

Unfortunately the stupidity and incompetence of people who run LDZL (Aeroklub Zagreb) reached its new high level and now you can’t get fuel there. The airfield itself was closed for few months last autumn and a month during this spring due to inability of operator to ensure normal conditions of runway for safe operations.

@Pavel, did you check LDZR? The other option would be refueling at LDVA and then jumping over the hill and landing at LDZL. I know it’s a hassle to land just for refueling but this airport bill is outrageous.

I just checked price lists and conditions:

Airport fees price list

GAT T and C

It explicitly says “CREW SHALL NOT PAY THIS CHARGE” regarding GAT usage.

@Pavel you have been scammed and you should complain and ask for refund. If I were you I would also report this to Croatian CAA. If you need any help on this, please let me know.

Some of our last year 2022. experience,
knowing about the LDZA ripoff and LDZL no fuel policy (other for club members),
we managed to convince INA on LDZA to fill up our small mobile car tank with 100 LL,
than made the own refuel on LDZL.

Other than that, one of local instructors on LDZL, bent our slat
by leaning on the elbow on our poor MS880B.
We left LDZL for good.

9A_LDSH wrote:

We left LDZL for good.

I left LDZL for good after being parked there for 3 months when I owned TB20. That was 13 years ago and nothing changed there since.

Emir wrote:

That was 13 years ago and nothing changed there since.

Only for worse :)