Croatia Airlines plans to retire five aircraft this year as part of its fleet modernisation program and transition to a single-type Airbus A220 operation. The carrier recently phased out one Dash 8 Q400 turboprop, while one Airbus A320 and four A319s will be removed during 2026. The A320 will exit the fleet on February 15, marking the end of A320 operations at Croatia Airlines. The remaining aircraft expected to be withdrawn this year are those registered 9A-CTG, 9A-CTH, 9A-CTL and 9A-CTN. By the end of the year, the airline is still expected to operate three Dash 8s and a single A319 as part of its remaining legacy fleet.

As previously reported, Croatia Airlines is expected to take delivery of seven A220 aircraft this year, bringing its total fleet of this type to fourteen. A final aircraft is scheduled to arrive in 2027, at which point the remaining Dash 8a and the last remaining A319 are expected to be withdrawn from service. The airline has confirmed that the Dash 8s will be replaced with wet-leased turboprop aircraft, which will be operated by another carrier on Croatia Airlines’ behalf. The deployment of the incoming A220s is expected to result in significant capacity growth during the 2026 summer season. Croatia Airlines is scheduled to offer more than 2.396.000 seats, representing an increase of 9% compared to 2025.

Croatia Airlines will launch new seasonal flights from Split to Nantes and from Dubrovnik to Stuttgart this year. However, the carrier will also discontinue its seasonal services from Split to both Amsterdam and Bucharest. Although no new routes are planned from Zagreb, the airline will increase capacity in the Croatian capital by 144.000 seats, primarily through the earlier start of seasonal operations. In Split, Croatia Airlines plans to boost capacity by 10%. Dubrovnik capacity is expected to grow 1% on last year.