Prague airport operator Letiste Praha saw its loss decrease from 2020’s CZK 2.3bn to more than CZK 1bn last year, and its turnover fell by about CZK 2bn yr/yr to some CZK 3.2bn, according to preliminary results, company head Jiri Pos told server e15.cz yesterday.
In 2019, before the coronavirus crisis, Letiste Praha posted a profit of over CZK 2.7bn and generated turnover of around CZK 11.5bn.
The exact figures for 2021 are to be available in a couple of months.
Last year’s loss was caused mainly by high depreciation.
Earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), on the other hand, exceeded CZK 100m and are expected to grow up to CZK 1bn this year.
For this year, the company expects a loss of about Kc400m, and its turnover should grow to about CZK 4.6bn, Pos said.
The airport may return to profits next year, he added.
“Our optimism is based on talks with air carriers and their demand for slots. Most companies are returning to pre-coronavirus capacities,” Pos said.
Air transport could return to growth in April after the Omicron variant fades away, he added.
Air carriers are expected to resume a number of services in the summer flight schedule. Flights to the USA with the United and Delta airlines should be resumed after two years. The airport is also in talks about new services to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and about a launch of direct flights to Vietnam. In the autumn, Korean Air may resume flights to Seoul, according to Pos.
Air carriers operated flights to 138 destinations from Prague last year.
Vaclav Havel Airport Prague handled 4.38 million passengers in 2021. In the pre-coronavirus year 2019, it processed over 17.8 million passengers. For this year, it has set a target of 8.6 million passengers.
With regard to the increasing traffic, the company is planning several investment projects worth up to CZK 1.5bn in 2022 and 2023. The investments should be spent mainly on technology repairs and maintenance.
Source: e15.cz and CTK
