Why Air Canada Is Launching Nonstop Flights To This Tiny European Airport

Credit: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock Published Sep 5, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Prachi is a London-based journalist with extensive experience in the aviation industry. She has worked for several leading industry publications, covering a broad range of topics. Her expertise lies in aircraft maintenance, emerging technologies, and advanced air mobility. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism, focusing on data journalism and its potential to transform conventional aviation reporting. Sign in to your Simple Flying account Lately, Air Canada has been expanding its international network. This year, the airline added multiple routes to destinations such as Mallorca, Berlin, Ponta Delgada, Catania, and Brussels. It is continuing this expansion in summer 2027. It will operate more than 125 international routes during the season, with up to 169,000 seats available each week from Canada to more than 85 international destinations across the Atlantic, Pacific, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Earlier this week, the airline teased several new international destinations through a 46-second video packed with hidden clues. On September 3, Air Canada revealed five new international destinations and announced seven new routes for summer 2027. The airline is launching flights to Guangzhou, China; Shannon, Ireland; Nice, France; Oslo, Norway; Basel, Switzerland; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. See the table below for more detailed information about the new routes. Air Canada Revives Croatia Service With New Dubrovnik Route Credit: Joel Serre | Shutterstock Dubrovnik is an interesting addition because the Croatian coastal city will receive its first nonstop link with Canada in more than four decades. Back in 1983, JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated scheduled nonstop flights between Toronto and Dubrovnik. Air Canada will launch seasonal flights between Montréal and Dubrovnik on May 11, 2027. The service will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with a 255-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The service will mark Air Canada’s return to Croatia with its own aircraft after an absence of several years. The carrier previously served the Croatian capital, Zagreb, but discontinued the route in 1991. In June 2018, after a 27-year hiatus, its leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge brought the Air Canada brand back to the Croatian market with seasonal flights between Toronto and Zagreb. The service initially operated four times per week with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. However, the route was later suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent retirement of Rouge’s widebody fleet. In fact, Air Canada itself planned to take over the Zagreb route in 2022 with three weekly Airbus A330-300 flights. However, the airline withdrew the service from sale before the route launched. Route Season Outbound (local timing) Inbound (local timing) Equipment Montréal–Dubrovnik May 11, 2027 – Oct. 23, 2027 6:15 PM – 8:30 AM+1 day (Tue, Thu, Sat) 10:45 AM – 1:45 PM (Wed, Fri, Sun) Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Montréal–Basel-Mulhouse Jun. 16, 2027 – Oct. 23, 2027 8:30 PM – 10:10 AM+1 day (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat) 12:15 PM – 2:40 PM (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun) Airbus A321XLR Toronto–Nice Jun. 16, 2027 – Oct. 23, 2027 7:30 PM –9:40 AM+1 day (Wed, Sat) 11:10 AM – 2:30 PM (Wed, Sat) Airbus A330-300 Toronto–Shannon Jun 10, 2027 – Oct. 2, 2027 9:30 PM – 9:05 AM+1 day (Tue, Thu, Sat) 10:20 AM –12:35 PM (Wed, Fri, Sun) Airbus A321XLR Toronto–Oslo Jun 2, 2027 – Oct. 10, 2027 9:30 PM –11:15 AM+1 day (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) 12:30 PM – 2:40 PM (Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat) Airbus A321XLR Vancouver–Guangzhou Year-round, begins May 5, 2027 12:35 AM – 5:00 AM+1 day (Tue, Thu, Sun) 9:45 AM – 6:30 AM (Mon, Wed, Fri) Boeing 787 Dreamliner Loading map… Drag to explore Dubrovnik Already Attracts Significant North American Demand Credit: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock Furthermore, Dubrovnik is a major tourism magnet on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. It has a sizable North American visitor market, although most travelers currently need to make a connection. OAG Traffic Analyzer data shows that approximately 170,000 passengers traveled to or from North America in 2025, with around 80% connecting somewhere along the way. Canada accounted for only a small share of that traffic. Around 6,000 passengers traveled between Montréal and Dubrovnik during the year. This means Air Canada will have to build demand in the local market once the new service launches. The airline can draw on a much wider catchment through its Montréal hub. Last year, the Toronto-Dubrovnik market accounted for around 12,000 passengers, while the greater New York area accounted for approximately 42,000. Los Angeles and Chicago each accounted for around 15,000 passengers, while Boston added another 11,000. Air Canada can give travelers from these markets access to Dubrovnik through Montréal, alongside demand generated within the city itself. Dubrovnik has previously sought a nonstop connection with Canada. In 2018, the airport held talks with Air Transat about launching seasonal flights between Toronto and Dubrovnik the following summer. However, the proposed service never materialized. Dubrovnik currently has just one nonstop connection with North America. United Airlines operates a seasonal service between Newark and the Croatian city. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have also previously served the market. Delta operated flights from New York-JFK, while American Airlines operated a seasonal Philadelphia-Dubrovnik service in 2019. Dubrovnik Airport Continues To See Strong Passenger Growth Credit: Cloudy Design | Shutterstock Dubrovnik Airport, which was officially renamed Ruđer Bošković Airport, is Europe’s 141st-busiest airport by flight movements. In 2025, the airport handled 3,090,245 passengers, a 4.6% increase from the 2.95 million passengers recorded in 2024. So far this year, more than 2.34 million passengers had already passed through the airport. August was particularly strong. The airport handled 566,259 passengers during the month, its highest monthly total on record. That surpassed the previous August record of 543,733 passengers set in 2025. September could bring another strong result. According to schedule data from aviation analytics provider Cirium, airlines have scheduled around 1,633 flights from Dubrovnik this month, with roughly 285,387 seats available. Ryanair has the largest schedule at the airport, with nearly 330 departures planned. Its services include flights to destinations such as Dublin, London Stansted, Bari, and Krakow.