Prague Airport honored at IATA

The International Air Transport Association's (IATA's) annual Eagle Award is a prestigious industry honor, but it's not the superlative that some in the Czech-language press reported June 6.

"Ruzyně Airport is the world's best airport" was the headline for articles by Týden and iDnes.cz, among others, rushed to the Web on the opening day of the IATA's 67th annual meeting, held this year in Singapore.

What the Eagle Award does mean, however, is the IATA's independent panel recognized Ruzyně Airport's "exceptional" response to airlines by freezing its charges until March 2012. The IATA praised what it called Prague's "transparent, effective and constructive consultations with airlines."

"Prague Airport has been a progressive partner for its airline customers," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's general director and CEO.

When contacted for comment by The Prague Post, IATA Corporate Communication Manager Chris Goater was surprised to hear Ruzyně Airport was the best in the world.

"What we said about Prague was that it's the most deserving of an Eagle Award," he explained. "We never rank airports that starkly, in terms of who's the best. What they have done is made considerable strives forward. They've frozen charges, and that's important in times of economic difficulty and means a lot for airlines. I don't mean to sound churlish; they're certainly deserving of this, and it's only awarded to one or two airports per year. It's prestigious to win one and means you've done some really good stuff. It's important to recognize that."

The award panel considers an airport's response to airlines, use of new technology and efforts for efficiency and safety, Goater added.

Miroslav Dvořák, CEO of Ruzyně Airport, was in Singapore to accept the award.

"It's a tremendous honor for us and a big motivation for the future. I am proud that even such a small country like the Czech Republic can boast an airport that is now officially ranked alongside the customer-oriented, constantly improving and technologically advanced airports of the world," a statement on the Ruzyně Airport website read.

But not everyone was on the IATA's good side. Bisignani described a "special place of dishonor on the IATA Wall of Shame" reserved for the European Union and its Parliament, bodies he said are ignoring international law in their attempts to include international aviation in its emissions trading scheme.

"It is a $1.5 billion cash grab that would do nothing to reduce emissions," he said.

He also blasted newly implemented aviation taxes from the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria - the last two for departure taxes expected to net the countries $1.3 billion and $119 million per year, respectively.

"Taxing aviation does not pay," Bisignani said. "The Dutch released a $412 million departure tax because it cost the economy $1.6 billion. ... The lesson for governments is simple: Don't kill the goose that lays golden eggs."

Claire Compton can be reached at
ccompton@praguepost.com