The Croatian Civil Aviation Agency has revoked the operating permit for Vrsar/Crljenka Airport, prompting the Vrsar Flying Club to announce legal action and warn of significant tourism losses.
Aviation inspectors closed the airport in Vrsar on Wednesday afternoon, leaving 12 aircraft on the runway with no possibility of takeoff. The closure is the culmination of a months-long dispute between the Municipality of Vrsar and the Vrsar Flying Club, occurring at the height of the tourist season when the airport records hundreds of arrivals of private aircraft from across Europe.
The Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (CCAA) issued a decision on June 25, 2026, revoking the Vrsar Flying Club's operating permit for Vrsar/Crljenka Airport. The reason is the Municipality of Vrsar's decision of June 8, 2026, which annulled an earlier conclusion from December 2023, on the basis of which the Flying Club had been granted the use of municipally owned land.
With the annulment of that conclusion, according to the CCAA's explanation, one of the conditions prescribed by the Rulebook on Issuing Airport Certificates and Operating Permits ceased to exist, as the Flying Club can no longer prove its right to use the area serving as the airport.
Rajko Tomašić, president of the Vrsar Flying Club, warns of the questionable procedure for delivering decisions and the lack of an adequate deadline for the safe departure of aircraft. "The Civil Aviation Agency sent us an email on Tuesday with a decision revoking our operator status. The very next day at 12:30 PM, the airport was closed. That is at the very least strange, given that the day before we had 12 aircraft at the airport; it would have been reasonable to provide some time for people to leave normally," Tomašić told Glas Istre.
Tomašić notes that as of yesterday noon, there had been 637 aircraft arrivals, with an additional 500 expected by November 1. "This is a huge loss for accommodation providers because people already have at least 100 reservations booked in apartments. What about ancillary spending per person, restaurants, food, and the taxi drivers who transport them?" Tomašić asks.
The Vrsar Flying Club is celebrating 50 years of existence this year. Tomašić emphasizes that the club built the airport and all its infrastructure itself. "No one has ever given a single euro for the construction of Vrsar Airport; everything was created and built by our flying club. Before the war, we performed agricultural spraying across Slovenia and served as a firefighting base, and from that earned money, we built buildings, facilities, and maintained the infrastructure," he said.
The Municipality of Vrsar came into ownership of the land under the Sports Act of 1996. Tomašić claims that this law clearly stipulates that when a municipality assumes ownership, it must grant the use of the property to the association that was operating there at the time. "We are a sports facility. That is why the previous authorities continuously granted us operating permits through their conclusions," he explains.
The Mayor of Vrsar, Tina Slamar (HDZ), says the Municipality respects the decisions of competent state bodies but emphasizes that closure was not the goal. "What I can clearly say is that closing Vrsar Airport is not the Municipality's goal. Quite the opposite; our goal is to create conditions for the airport to be well-maintained, safe, legally regulated, and to function and develop in the long term," she stated for Glas Istre.
Slamar reveals that the Vrsar Flying Club has initiated court proceedings related to the Municipality's decision to change the airport management model. "The Municipality believes it had justified reasons to review the existing management model for its property and establish a model that will enable more serious investment, clear accountability for management, and long-term airport development," she said.
The CCAA rejects claims that its decision caused the situation in which 12 aircraft cannot take off. According to Agency guidelines, a request for a permit for off-airport operations can be submitted, with a deadline of seven working days for sending the request and all necessary documents. The CCAA emphasizes that upon receiving requests, it will strive to process them as quickly as possible.
Due to the extraordinary closure, flights bound for Vrsar, including those with passengers from Slovakia, had to be diverted to alternative airports in Medulin and Portorož. The Flying Club has announced it will file a lawsuit against the inspection decision that closed the airport.
