Zagreb Airport Reopens After Private Jet Incident

The news in Croatian

1. zatvaranje  (n.)
   Proces zatvaranja ili onemogućavanja pristupa nečemu. ↩︎
2. sletjeti
   Završiti let spuštanjem na tlo. ↩︎
3. ozlijediti
   Nanijeti nekome ili nečemu fizičku štetu ili povredu. ↩︎
4. preusmjeriti
   Promijeniti smjer ili putanju nečemu. ↩︎
5. uzrok  (m.)
   Ono što uzrokuje neku situaciju ili događaj. ↩︎
6. istraga  (f.)
   Proces istraživanja događaja radi utvrđivanja činjenica. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: How long was the airport closed after the private jet incident?

Question 2: What type of aircraft was involved in the incident at Zagreb Airport?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
zatvaranje  (n.)	closure
sletjeti	landed
ozlijediti	injured
preusmjeriti	redirected
uzrok  (m.)	cause
istraga  (f.)	investigation

Read the full story

The Zračna luka Franjo Tuđman in Zagreb has resumed operations after being closed for approximately ten hours due to a private jet veering off the runway. The airport authorities announced the reopening at 00:51 early Monday after successfully clearing the aircraft, a Cessna 525 from Air Panonia, off the safety area.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, when the jet skidded onto a grassy strip adjoining the runway during landing. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The closure, however, resulted in significant travel disruptions, with multiple flights being canceled or rerouted to nearby airports in Zadar, Pula, Ljubljana, and Vienna.

The closure led to downstream effects, including delayed flights and stranded passengers, affecting operations of major airlines, such as Croatia Airlines and Ryanair. Airport officials were keen to point out that the delay in reopening was due to the time-consuming process of safely removing the aircraft.

A significant factor behind the delay was the lack of appropriate equipment on-site to remove the jet. Krešimir Vlašić, Air Panonia’s Flight Operations Director, revealed that the Zagreb airport had to rely on the airline’s own equipment for the aircraft removal process. The necessary lifting apparatus had to be transported from Osijek, thereby extending the duration of the airport closure.

This incident has sparked questions regarding the preparedness of Zagreb’s airport facilities to handle such emergencies efficiently. The investigation into the circumstances leading to the runway excursion continues, with preliminary reports suggesting a burst tire may have been the cause.

Meanwhile, passengers have been advised to liaise directly with their respective airlines for the latest flight information as schedules return to normalcy.

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