Lučko Airfield

---

title: "Lučko Airfield" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["airports-in-croatia", "buildings-and-structures-in-zagreb", "transport-in-zagreb", "civil-aviation-in-croatia", "economy-of-zagreb"] description: "Airport in Croatia" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lučko_Airfield" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Airport in Croatia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox airport"]

Field	Value
name	Lučko Airfield
nativename	Zračno pristanište Lučko
image	File:Lucko Zagreb Airport.jpg
image-width
image_alt	Picture of a grass airfield
caption	Lučko Airfield
image2-width
ICAO	LDZL
type	Military/Public
owner-oper	Aeroklub Zagreb
city-served	Lučko
location	Ježdovec, Croatia
opened
closed
passenger_services_ceased
built	1943
used
commander
occupants	Croatian Air Force
Lučko ATU
timezone	CET
utc	UTC+1
summer	CEST
utcs	UTC+2
elevation-f	405
elevation-m	123
metric-elev	yes
coordinates
website
pushpin_map	Croatia
pushpin_label	LDZL
mapframe	yes
r1-number	10R/28L
r1-length-m	850
r1-surface	grass
r2-number	10L/28R
r2-length-m	850
r2-surface	grass
metric-rwy	yes
h1-surface
stat1-data
::

| name = Lučko Airfield | ensign = | ensign_size = | ensign_alt = | nativename = Zračno pristanište Lučko | nativename-a = | nativename-r = | image = File:Lucko Zagreb Airport.jpg | image-width = | image_alt = Picture of a grass airfield | caption = Lučko Airfield | image2 = | image2-width = | image2_alt = | caption2 = | IATA = | ICAO = LDZL | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | type = Military/Public | owner-oper = Aeroklub Zagreb | owner = | operator = | city-served = Lučko | location = Ježdovec, Croatia | opened = | closed = | passenger_services_ceased = | hub = | focus_city = | built = 1943 | used = | commander = | occupants = Croatian Air Force Lučko ATU | timezone = CET | utc = UTC+1 | summer = CEST | utcs = UTC+2 | elevation-f = 405 | elevation-m = 123 | metric-elev = yes | coordinates = | website = | image_map = | image_mapsize = | image_map_alt = | image_map_caption = | pushpin_map = Croatia | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_image = | pushpin_label = LDZL | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_marksize = | mapframe = yes | r1-number = 10R/28L | r1-length-f = | r1-length-m = 850 | r1-surface = grass | r2-number = 10L/28R | r2-length-f = | r2-length-m = 850 | r2-surface = grass | metric-rwy = yes | h1-number = | h1-length-f = | h1-length-m = | h1-surface = | stat1-header = | stat1-data = | stat-year = | footnotes = Lučko Airfield (, ) is an airfield for general aviation and unscheduled air transport, located in Ježdovec near Lučko, in central Croatia, 11 km southwest of Zagreb. It is operated by Aeroklub Zagreb and has two parallel grass runways measuring 850 x. Due to the lack of surfacing on the runways, it is only used from spring to autumn in dry periods. Aside from traffic, the airport is today a venue for air shows, such as Zagreb Air Show and Adria Air Race and an operation base for civilian pilot training.

Lučko was formerly Zagreb's main international airport, and later supported military aviation. It was constructed in 1943 and saw commercial operations from 1947 to 1959, after which commercial traffic was moved to the new Zagreb Airport with paved runways in Pleso. Lučko thereafter remained an airport for military and general aviation. Today it is also used by Croatian special police's Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit.

The airport is equipped to serve light aircraft, helicopters, gliders, ultralight aviation, UAVs and parachuting. It is connected to Zagreb and Lučko by a regular bus line.

History

The area was first used for air traffic in World War II by Luftwaffe in 1943. The next year the airfield was upgraded with a roughly 1500 m grass runway, a small hangar, twelve mid-sized sheds for airplanes as well as workshops, and towards the end of the war saw use by the Independent State of Croatia Air Force. After the end of World War II, the airport began serving domestic commercial flights on 1 April 1947, soon adding international flights to the roster and taking the place of Borongaj Airport, which was heavily bombed during the war, as Zagreb's international airport. Its first year of commercial operation saw 1,430 flights, 11,000 passengers and thirty tonnes of cargo. In 1959, its final year of commercial operations, the airport served 167,000 passengers and 1500 t of cargo. After the opening of the new Zagreb Airport in Pleso in 1962, Lučko Airport's importance waned, as its grass runways were never paved to accommodate newer, heavier Convair jets, which were displacing Douglas DC-3 airliners' market share by the late 1950s. The commercial traffic was moved to Pleso and Lučko was allocated completely to the Yugoslav People's Army and Aeroklub Zagreb, the latter of which was the first to open a civilian pilot school at Lučko. In 1978, the 14th World Parachuting Championships was held at Lučko.

In the 1990s, during the Croatian War of Independence, the airport was bombed by the Yugoslav People's Army, but the raid had been expected and all the airplanes and equipment had been evacuated beforehand. Two of the civilian airplanes were donated by their owners to the nascent Croatian air forces. After its formation, the Croatian Air Force began to use Lučko as an Air Base. The 94th Air Force Base was stationed there until it was disbanded in 2000, though the airport continues to be used by the Air Force. As of 2007, an Air Force helicopter squadron was stationed at Lučko. The Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit of Croatian special police is also based at Lučko Airport and stations its helicopters there.

One notable accident happened during the era of the airport's commercial operation, on 21 September 1950, when a Douglas DC-3 on a domestic Jugoslavenski Aerotransport (JAT) flight crashed, killing 10 of the 11 people on board.

Facilities

The aerodrome is located on Ježdovečka Road 17 on the outskirts of the village of Ježdovec. It is 3 km west of the eponymous Lučko and 11 km southwest of Zagreb's inner city borders. Airplanes up to 5700 kg in maximum takeoff weight, gliders, ultralight aviation, and UAVs (drones) are allowed at Lučko Airport, in addition to parachuting, and police and military helicopters. The field is only used during dry periods from spring to autumn as the runways are not paved. Shuttle bus service is not provided but Ježdovec is served by the ZET bus line 168.

Its reference point (ARP) is located at at an elevation of 405 ft and a magnetic variation of 4.2 °E as of August 2019. There are two parallel runways in west-southwest and east-southeast orientation. The southern runway (10R/28L) is used mainly for powered aircraft, while the northern (10L/28R) is exclusively for unpowered aircraft. The airport also has two anemometres, three aprons, and a control tower responsible for monitoring air traffic over the surrounding area and most of Zagreb west of Dubrava.

::data[format=table]

Runway name	Length	Width	Surface
10R/28L	850 m	30 m	Grassy
10L/28R	850 m	30 m	Grassy
::

Air shows and competitions

Lučko has been a venue for a number of air shows and competitions, such as the yearly Zagreb Air Show (), and Zagreb Cup (a parachuting precision landing competition; Kup grada Zagreba), as well as the 2nd Adria Air Race in 2012. Aeroklub Zagreb has also several times held Meetings for Rudi (Susreti za Rudija), an air show in remembrance of Croatian Air Force pilot Rudolf Perešin. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale's 14th World Precision Flying Championship took place at Lučko on 7–14 July 2002, attracting 54 participants from seventeen countries.

The 2nd Military World Games took place in Zagreb in 1999, and the parachuting competition was held at the Lučko Airport.

File:Penkala 1919 2.JPG|Replica of Slavoljub Penkala's 1910 model, the first aircraft in Croatia File:Croatian police Bell 212 with ATJ Lučko (3).JPG|Croatian police helicopter at the 2010 Lučko Air Show File:It sounded as good as it looks!.jpg|Air Force jet in Croatian checkerboard colours at the 2010 air show File:Giles G-202 Lučko.jpg|Giles G-202 aerobatic airplane parked at Lučko Airport File:Eleanor Roosevelt in Lučko.png|Eleanor Roosevelt disembarking a plane at the Lučko Airport in 1953 Lučko Zagreb Airport.jpg|Aerial view of airfield

References

Sources

References

1. (20 December 2018). "Characteristics and the Overview of Air Traffic in the Republic of Croatia". Pomorstvo.
2. "Povijest i razvoj kroz vrijeme". Zagreb Airport.
3. Ilić, Goran. (2011). "Povijest Aerokluba Zagreb: Svaki napredni Zagrepčanin trebao bi biti član Aerokluba Zagreb".
4. (19 December 2008). "Ex Yu Airforces".
5. (20 December 2007). "Ratno zrakoplovstvo imat će samo dvije baze".
6. (4 December 2015). "SPECIJALNIH 130 PROTIV TERORISTA Nitko im ne zna imena, za pola sata mogu doći do najudaljenije točke i intervenirati, slušaju samo ministra".
7. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-25-DK (DC-3) YU-ABC Zagreb/Lucko Airport".
8. "Aerodrom Lučko".
9. (29 October 2011). "Operativne procedure Aerodroma Lučko (LDZL)". Aeroklub Zagreb.
10. (November 2017). "Autobusne linije terminala Prečko". [[Zagrebački električni tramvaj]], City of Zagreb.
11. "Lučko Airport - LDZL".
12. (23 August 2011). "Zagrebačko nebo ponovno ugošćuje aeromiting".
13. (27 August 2010). "Umjesto u subotu, Zagreb Air Show održat će se u nedjelju".
14. (5 May 2017). "ZAGREB KUP 2017".
15. (7 June 2012). "Sve je spremno za Adria Air Race: Akrobatski piloti nad Jarunom spremaju spektakl, čeka ih teška utrka".
16. (10 May 2009). "XII. Susreti za Rudija".
17. (9 May 2010). "XIII. Susreti za Rudija".
18. (6 May 2012). "XV. Susreti za Rudija".
19. (12 May 2019). "Ministar najavio letačku manifestaciju "Susreti za Rudija": "Hrvatima je dao nadu, neizmjeran ponos i prkos"".
20. (2003). "Encyclopedia of International Games". McFarland and Company.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::