Full Interior Detail at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman (LDZA)

How does airside access work at the General Aviation Terminal?

The General Aviation Terminal—signed locally as Terminal Generalne Avijacije—sits on the western side of the airport campus, physically separate from the main passenger terminal. Havaš operates the facility and coordinates all general aviation movements. When you file your slot request, the handler arranges stand allocation, GPU if required, and passenger processing through a dedicated control point for immigration and customs.

Our crew meets the handler's operations team before the aircraft lands. We hold permanent airside passes for Zagreb, so no escort delay once the handler confirms the aircraft is on stand and tech log is available. Turnaround work—cabin touch-up between legs—takes two to three hours. A full interior detail runs four to ten hours depending on cabin size, so most operators schedule it during overnight stops or longer layovers. If you're positioning empty or the cabin is cold-soaked after descent, we wait until the interior warms to working temperature before starting extraction or leather conditioning.

What does the full interior detail include for my aircraft?

Every seat, divan and cabin sidewall panel is addressed. Leather surfaces are cleaned with pH-neutral products, then conditioned to restore suppleness and prevent cracking. Carpets and fabric upholstery go through hot-water extraction with stain pre-treatment where needed. Veneer, brightwork and plastic trim are polished without silicone or products that outgas onto avionics. The galley receives a deep clean: worktops, drawer runners, oven interiors, coffee-maker descaling, and drain traps cleared. Lavatory service includes mirror polishing, seal inspection, and odour elimination if the holding tank has been vented recently.

The flight deck is cleaned using no-touch procedures around avionics bays, static ports and pitot covers left in place if you prefer. We vacuum under seats and inside footwells, wipe down all switch panels and yoke grips, and treat the glareshield with anti-static compound. Cabin disinfection—fogging or wipe-down with hospital-grade virucide—is available on request and adds roughly thirty minutes. The entire process is logged, and we return the aircraft with a handover sheet noting any worn or damaged cabin materials that may need OEM attention.

What changes at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman for business aviation?

The airport sits at 353 feet elevation, ten kilometres south-east of Zagreb city centre near Central Station. One runway—04/22, 3252 metres—handles all traffic, commercial and general aviation alike. There is no curfew, so night stops and early-morning departures are unrestricted. The General Aviation Terminal processes its own passenger and crew immigration, which keeps your principal and guests away from airline queues and shortens ground time.

Continental climate means cold winters and warm summers. Between November and March, expect temperatures well below freezing on the ramp, which thickens cabin-cleaning chemistry and slows drying time after carpet extraction. We heat dilution water and pre-warm products in winter. Summer afternoon temperatures in July and August can push thirty degrees Celsius inside a cabin that has been sitting in the sun, so we open doors, run the APU or request GPU-driven air conditioning before starting detail work. Humidity is moderate year-round, but spring and autumn see more rain, which tracks onto carpets and requires extra passes with the extractor if the crew has been moving baggage in wet conditions.

How do I schedule a full interior detail around my rotation?

Contact us as soon as you have a confirmed slot. We need aircraft type, registration, estimated time of arrival, and planned departure. If you are doing a quick turn—two hours or less—we can perform a cabin touch-up but not a full detail. Overnight stops and layovers of six hours or longer give us the time to complete the work without rushing.

AOG situations or schedule changes are common. If your departure moves forward, we prioritise the highest-impact areas: galley, lavatory, and the forward cabin where your principal sits. If the slot pushes back, we add tasks like deep-cleaning gear bays or polishing the cabin entry steps. The handler at the General Aviation Terminal will notify us of any changes to stand assignment or departure clearance, and we adjust our crew schedule accordingly. Payment is arranged after the work is signed off in the tech log, typically by invoice to your flight department or handling agent.

Why does leather need conditioning, not just cleaning?

Aircraft leather is top-coated and pigment-finished, but it still breathes. Cabin pressure cycles, dry air at altitude, and UV exposure through windows all pull moisture out of the hide. When leather dries, it becomes stiff and starts to crack along seat bolsters and armrest edges—the surfaces that see the most contact. Cleaning alone removes soil and body oils, but it does not replace lost moisture or flexibility.

Conditioning puts emollients back into the leather structure. We apply a water-based conditioner after cleaning, work it into the surface with a microfibre applicator, then buff to a natural finish. The process takes an extra hour across a typical eight-seat cabin, but it doubles the service life of the upholstery and prevents the chalky, faded look that develops when leather is only wiped down between flights. If your cabin has aniline or semi-aniline leather—common on ACJ and BBJ completions—we adjust the product and technique to avoid darkening or staining the natural grain.

What happens if the handler needs the aircraft moved during the detail?

Handlers at Zagreb occasionally reposition aircraft to clear the apron for arriving traffic or to make way for fuel trucks and catering vans. If the General Aviation Terminal operations team requests a move, we pause work, secure all equipment and cleaning chemistry, and step off the aircraft. The handler tows or taxis the aircraft to the new stand, then notifies us when it is safe to resume.

A mid-job move adds fifteen to thirty minutes to the overall timeline, depending on how far the aircraft is repositioned and how quickly the stand is powered up again. We do not leave products open or extraction hoses unattended during a move, and we recheck the cabin for any items that may have shifted. If you are on a tight departure slot and a move looks likely, let us know during scheduling so we can build buffer time into the plan or prioritise sections of the cabin that can be completed without interruption.