Business aviation operator, Jung Sky, is fuelling plans for growth at Varazdin Airport in Croatia having set up its maintenance base at the small regional hub.
With a thriving gastronomy and cultural scene, Varazdin is already one of Croatia’s more prominent industrial and business hubs and now the airport is hoping to leverage growth in these sectors by attracting more business aviation customers.
Jelena Sekelj, Director of Parkovi, the airport operator, said the airport is undergoing a renaissance. “After a period of nine months last year, during which the airport was without a certificate and basically non-existing in the aviation world, several infrastructural improvements that are in accordance with national and EASA standards were made and the certificate was regained.”
Sekelj added: “The most demanding challenges in terms of financial resources are yet to come, but we’re taking it one step at a time.”
Airport Manager, Karlo Pigac, noted that “the most important thing is that a lot of companies are showing interest in partnering up with us in order to position Varazdin Airport as a meaningful spot in the aviation community, especially business aviation. We’re happy to say that Jung Sky, one of the top private jet operators in this part of Europe, are shaping their maintenance hangar here and there are also others interested in exploiting existing hangars or investing in new ones.”
Among the work that needs to be undertaken at the airport are renovations on the terminal building, lighting and fuel supply upgrades. “In order for it to be a serious contender for business jets, Varazdin must be a 24/7 airport and we must set up the foundations for fully functional FBO services. We’re also working on improving the facilities for the passengers, the crews, police and customs officials and pilot students,” continued Pigac.
Expressing his optimism that the airport is well located geographically, Kresimir Jung, co-owner and one of the captains at Jung Sky said: “A lot of business jets need to make technical stops when flying from for example Greece or Turkey to Germany or England. Varazdin (LDZA) is right at Europe’s centre and perfect for refuelling. Also, with the right set of visionary investments, the airport can become a great alternative for the flights to the capital Zagreb, which is only 80km away, especially having in mind LDZA’s dense morning fogs, which often prevent aircraft from landing at Zagreb Airport.”
As far as Jung Sky’s maintenance plans at LDVA are concerned, phase one includes in-housing maintenance activities for their own fleet. Phase two is long-term and involves setting up their maintenance service for third parties.
“Maintenance is one of the key issues for the operators. Our goal for the future is to provide line and base maintenance for third parties and to be a reliable partner in that regard,” Jung concluded.
