Varazdin airport is situated on the outskirts of one of Croatia's more prominent industrial and business hubs. It has a buzzing gastronomy and culture, and is part of one of the most developed, continuously growing and export-oriented counties in the country. A number of business aviation companies have recently been showing interest in the airport as it looks to become a business aviation hotspot.

“The 'renaissance' refers to the fact that after a period of nine months last year, during which the airport was without a certificate and basically didn't exist in the aviation world, several infrastructure improvements were made in accordance with national and EASA standards and the certificate was regained. The most demanding challenges in terms of financial resources are yet to come, but we're taking it one step at the time,” says Jelena Sekelj, director of Parkovi, the company in charge of airport management.

“The 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," says airport manager Karlo Pigac. “We're happy to say that Jung Sky, one of the top private jet operators in this part of Europe, is developing its maintenance hangar here, and there are also others interested in taking on existing hangars or investing in new ones.”

Fuel supply, repairs to the main building and night lighting are among the most important issues to be resolved in the near future. “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,” adds Pigac.

Jung Sky co-owner and captain Kresimir Jung is confident the airport can really capitalise on its geography. He says: “A lot of business jets need to make technical stops when flying from, for example, Greece or Turkey to Germany or England. Varazdin is right at Europe's centre and perfect for refuelling. Also, with the right set of visionary investments, it can become a great alternative for the flights to the capital Zagreb, which is only 80 kilometres away, especially bearing in mind the dense morning fogs that often prevent aircraft from landing at Zagreb airport.”

As far as Jung Sky's maintenance plans are concerned, phase one includes in-housing maintenance activities for its own fleet. Phase two is long term and involves setting up its maintenance service for third parties.

“Maintenance is one of the key issues for operators," says Jung. "Our goal for the future is to provide line and base maintenance for third parties and to be a reliable partner in that regard.”