The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
August 30th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Art & Antiques Prague Art Prague Antiques

Home » Archives » Business

Cleared for takeoff

Spurred by European funding and Russian tourists, regional airports are on the rise

By Michael Heitmann
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 21st, 2008 issue

enlarge
It may have taken a while, but the Czech Republic’s regional airports are beginning to assert themselves.
The government opened up the aviation market in 2004, transferring airport ownership to the regional administrations. Following this and spurred by European Union funding, these airports, in cities like Karlovy Vary, Pardubice and Ostrava, are positioning themselves as international gateways to their markets, rather than just spokes shooting off Prague’s hub.
“All regional airports have a chance to develop, as air travel is expanding in general and the major airports are reaching their capacity limit,” said Václav Černý, director of Karlovy Vary’s airport. “The European Commission has recognized this as a problem and tries to support smaller airports.”
While Prague’s Ruzyně Airport is far from reaching capacity — 12.4 million passengers crossed its transom in 2007 to the tune of 1 billion Kč ($62.3 million) in profit — this growth has not come at the expense of the regional airports, which have been boosted by the arrival of budget and charter airlines. Under communism, these airports had no international flights.
Karlovy Vary’s airport saw passenger numbers rise from 20,000 in 2000 to 65,000 in 2007, according to Černý. Between 2006 and 2007, passenger volume almost doubled. And the airport made a 2.7 million Kč profit last year.
The airport has invested more than 146 million Kč in the past four years in the modernization of its facilities. The EU covered more than a third of the cost, about 50 million Kč.
In February, construction of a completely new terminal began, which carries a price tag of 98 million Kč. The terminal will open its doors to the public in April 2009, Černý said, and will increase the airport’s capacity to half a million passengers a year — an eight-fold increase over last year’s numbers.
Norway, a Schengen country, supported a recent upgrade to separate Karlovy Vary’s Schengen and non-Schengen passenger flows with a 700,000 euro ($1.09 million/17.4 million Kč) grant from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, which supports development in poorer European countries. Ninety percent of Karlovy Vary’s travelers are from non-Schengen countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Russia, Černý said.
It’s especially a popular destination for Russian tourists. Planes take off for Moscow five times a week and Czech Airlines serves St. Petersburg with a stopover in Prague on Saturdays. Vacation-goers can top up their tan in Hurghada, a seashore resort on the Red Sea, or take charter flights to Antalya, Turkey, as well as Heraklion and Rhodos in Greece.
Russians make up the vast majority of travelers at the airport, but not in the region overall, which is visited by a significant number of Germans, Dutch, Israelis and tourists from the United States and the Middle East, Černý said. He wants to tap into this underserved market.
“We are trying to persuade airlines that there is a need for a direct connection to Munich or Frankfurt. [These airports] would then serve as hubs for connecting flights worldwide,” he said.
Prague dependence
The regional airports stress that they are not rivals to Prague. For example, more passengers flew from Prague to New York City (103,000) in 2007 than checked-in at Pardubice’s airport overall.
“We have never tried to compete with the airport in Prague,” said Pardubice’s airport director, Vít Vavřina. “It is irreplaceable as the main gateway to the Czech Republic.”
In Pardubice, 100 kilometers east of Prague, the airport’s 93,000 annual passengers are, again, largely vacationing Russians. Three regular flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg are reinforced Sundays by up to five charter flights.
Meanwhile, in south Moravia, the Czech Republic’s second largest city, Brno, also boasts the country’s largest regional airport, with 416,000 passengers in 2007. Ostrava, in north Moravia, is second, with 332,000 guests last year.
Even in Brno, which is closer to Slovakia and Austria than Prague, the regional airport has no desire to shake its dependence on Ruzyně. Rather, it wants to profit from it.
“Prague airport is a partner for us, thanks to its excellent offer of connecting flights,” said Martin Vild, the airport’s marketing director.
Regular flights between Prague and Brno were launched in December 2005. Flight frequency has since increased to 18 a week. With this route, the airport’s goal is not to target Czechs driving from Prague to Brno, but rather international flyers.
“The connection gives [travelers] access to the huge number of international transfer flights available in Prague,” Vild said, adding that “our advantages are a well-laid-out infrastructure, short distances and less traffic at the terminal.”
If regional airports like Brno bank on such advantages, they should be able to compete with larger European neighbors. All you need to succeed, according to Karlovy Vary’s Černý, are high-quality holiday and business travel services, cheap parking, fast check-in and friendly staff.

Michael Heitmann can be reached at mheitmann@praguepost.com


Other articles in Business (21/05/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.