While the total number of passengers at Czech airports increased in 2012, Prague saw its volume drop. The capital’s Václav Havel Airport saw 11.8m passengers in 2011. Monthly figures from last year signify a notable decrease, according to the Prague Post, which points to the May passenger volume as an example. Passenger numbers fell by 13.7 percent to 931,666 in that month, while aircraft movement decreased by 12.6 percent to 11,843. Service cutbacks by Czech Airlines are to blame, airport spokesperson Eva Krejčí told the newspaper, noting there could be a slight upturn of 2 percent in 2013.
Some of the regional airports, on the other hand, had much better results, thanks to Russian tourists. In Pardubice, the number of passengers soared by 92 percent to 125,000, with 80 percent of them being Russians. At Karlovy Vary Airport, the passenger numbers grew from 99,014 in 2011 to 103,682 last year, with Russians again making up the majority. Vodochody, just outside Prague, could further increase the list of competitors to the Prague airport after Ostrava and Brno. Penta investment group, which bought the former army facility last year, has quite ambitious plans for the property. The group is trying to persuade the low-cost carrier Ryanair to fly into the airport and claims it will increase passenger numbers to 3.5m annually from the 793 last year.
