Air traffic over the Czech Republic rose to 621,226 flights last year, 13 percent more than the year before. It reached 73 percent compared to the year before. In a long-term comparison, last year’s traffic volume was similar to 2007. The development of traffic in Czech airspace was again different from the European average, which reached a level of 90 percent of 2019 traffic. The main reason for this is the war in Ukraine. The Czech Air Traffic Control (ŘLP ČR) announced today.
The average daily number of movements reached 1,701 in the past year, it said, with July being the strongest month in terms of traffic with almost 70,000 movements. The biggest user of Czech airspace was the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, which flew almost 16.6 million kilometres over the Czech Republic. This was followed by Wizz Air and Turkish Airlines. Domestic carrier Smartwings has long remained the largest user of Prague Airport, followed by Ryanair and Eurowings.
The reason for the slower growth in Czech air traffic is, according to the Czech Air Traffic Control, only the impact of the war in Ukraine and the related shift of the main air traffic flows southwards. The sanctions on Russian and Belarusian carriers and the closure of Ukrainian carriers are also having an impact. This absence represents a decrease of around 200 flights per day, as in 2022, according to ŘLP ČR.
“During 2023, we have managed to successfully implement all consolidation processes, prepare for future development, as well as for the return of traffic volumes to their original values,” said Jan Klas, CEO of ŘLP ČR. The company continues to train new air traffic controllers and prepare other key professions, he said. Klas said the company is stable in all areas and is ready for growing traffic in 2024.
Czech airspace became part of the SEE FRA last February, which also includes Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, Klas said. The change has helped reduce emissions and fuel consumption and shorten flight paths.
Prague Airport handled 13.8 million passengers last year, up 29 percent year-on-year. In 2022, it was nearly 10.7 million people for the full year. This year, the airport expects to carry 15.5 million passengers, it said in a press release. For 2024, the airport currently has a total of eight new destinations confirmed and frequency increases on more than 30 routes.
Source: ŘLP ČR and CTK
