Featured image: Air China is launching the new Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb flight/Pixabay
Croatia and China will be connected by a regular passenger air service for the first time this September, when Air China launches a new route linking Beijing, Bucharest and Zagreb.
The new Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb flight will begin operating on September 4, with three services a week, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in China announced following an official presentation of the route in Beijing.
The service will connect the Croatian and Chinese capitals via Bucharest, giving Croatia a regular air link with China at a time when the number of Chinese visitors to the country is continuing to recover.
Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb flight starts September 4
Air China will operate the new service every Monday, Wednesday and Friday using a wide-body Airbus A330.
Flights to Zagreb will operate as CA913, with the return service to Beijing designated CA914. Passengers will have a three-hour stop in Bucharest, where EU entry and exit formalities will be completed before the aircraft continues its journey.
The route was formally presented in Beijing on August 11 at an event organised by Air China together with the Croatian and Romanian embassies.
First regular air link between Croatia and China
Croatian Ambassador to China Dario Mihelin described the launch as a historic moment, noting that Beijing and Zagreb have never previously been connected by a regular air service.
Croatia Airlines did operate a special repatriation flight between Zagreb and Tianjin during the pandemic, but the new Air China service represents the first regular passenger connection between the two countries.
Plans for such a connection date back several years. Mihelin said the Croatian Embassy in Beijing had already held discussions with several airlines, including Air China, about the feasibility of a route in 2019.
That year, Croatia welcomed almost half a million Chinese visitors. Although arrivals have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, more than 330,000 Chinese visitors travelled to Croatia in 2025.
Mihelin said the new service should make travel easier not only to Croatia but also to neighbouring Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, which Chinese visitors often combine with Croatia in the same trip.
New flight expected to boost tourism and trade
Tourism is one of the most obvious beneficiaries of the Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb flight, but Croatian officials also see opportunities for stronger business and trade links.
Mihelin highlighted the potential for Croatian products including cheese, tuna, olive oil and wine to reach the Chinese market more easily, while the route is also expected to support business travel and wider economic cooperation.
During the presentation in Beijing, the Croatian National Tourist Board’s office in Shanghai presented parts of Croatia’s tourism offer considered particularly attractive to Chinese travellers.
Air China expands its European network
The new route will also become part of Air China’s growing European network. Cui Xiaofeng, chairman of China National Aviation Holding Corporation Limited, the majority shareholder of Air China, said the airline currently serves 27 destinations in Europe, with almost 260 flights operating between China and Europe each week.
He said the Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb flight service would further strengthen Air China’s network in Central and Eastern Europe and provide a new link for trade, tourism and cultural exchange.
For Croatia, however, the significance is more straightforward: from September 4, Zagreb will for the first time have a regular passenger air connection with China. The route could also make Zagreb a more convenient entry point for Chinese travellers planning multi-country trips through Croatia and neighbouring Southeast European destinations.
