Last Year We Set a Record
There are 21 flights out of Brno Airport
This year the BRNO AIRPORT company marks ten years of operating the Brno - Turany international airport. In 2002 we took over the operation of the airport from the then Czech Airport Administration and were also obliged to develop the public Brno - Turany international airport. The development thus far shows that this step was a very important turning point in the area of operating regional airports in the Czech Republic. This was the first step of after several years of preparation for gaining independence for the regional airports. Two years later, also based on the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union and the ability to draw on funds from the development funds of the EU, the property of the Brno, Ostrava and Karlovy - Vary regional airports was transferred to the respective regional governments. The director of Brno Airport, Tomas Placek, speaks about the development and the perspectives of the airport.
Could you shortly evaluate the most important events and successes of this period?
In 2002 Brno Airport mainly offered tourist charter flights and general aviation. Back then we handled almost 150,000 passengers. Thanks to the liberalization of air traffic in Europe, this sector experienced considerable development and regional airports not only in the Czech Republic were given a great chance. The so called low cost transportation, which also concentrated on secondary regional airports, increased greatly. Thanks to this fact, in 2005 we were able to commence new regular flights to London. But even before that we started preparing for the construction of the new terminal, which was opened in the fall of 2006. It was the first activity in the aviation industry carried out by the South Moravia region, as the owner of the airport, which was completed thanks to the regional operation programme of EU. The capacity of Brno was increased at the right moment, as in 2006 we handled 394,000 passengers on regular and charter flights. We would not have been able to process so many passengers in the old terminal. In the following years, we successfully completed other activities in co-operation with the South Moravia region thanks to the infrastructural development funds of the EU. We bought two special airport buses and a year later we bought a fire engine. In 2007 the airport finished the process of gaining the status of a public international airport with external borders. By this we satisfied the conditions according to which we could process flights inside and outside of the Schengen area. In 2008, in the new terminal, we celebrated 50 years of operations at Brno Airport.
How does the current situation look and what should the passengers expect this year?
Last year we set a record for passengers handled, as we reached a total of 558,000 passengers from regular and non-regular flights. In the summer flight schedule the airlines offer 21 flights per week to 6 European airports, or respectively to 5 cities. You can choose from flights to London - Stansted and Luton, Rome, Bergamo, Moscow and Eindhoven. For example through Moscow one can continue on flights inside the Russian Federation as well as to other states. In the summer, passengers can fly to more than 25 tourist destinations especially in the Mediterranean region.
What is your biggest worry, currently?
We are intensively searching for an airline operator, which will connect Brno and the South Moravia region with a junction airport, a so called HUB. This is greatly missed especially by the business clientele, for which a good connection with the world is of crucial importance. The demand of such a kind of service exists, which was proven in the last few years when such flights from Brno airport were offered by Czech Airlines. It is evident that this year we will not be able to secure such a connection but in 2013 such flights will be at customers' disposal.

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