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Transport Ministry to Help Out Bratislava Airport
Wednesday 10 February 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, February 10 (TASR) - The Transport Ministry intends to help Bratislava's M.R. Stefanik Airport (BTS) with acquiring new carriers, Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny (a Smer-SD nominee) said after Wednesday's Government session.
"We sit in negotiations with Asian transport companies, namely Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese transporters," said Vazny.
According to him, it's necessary to help the airport as much as possible, in order to halt the ongoing drop in passengers. "We'll do our utmost so as not to have the new terminal half-full," emphasised Vazny. In 2009, the Bratislava Airport saw approximately a 23-percent drop in passengers year-on-year – or 1.7 million people fewer. A trial run of the new terminal's first section will be launched as of May this year, and should last for three months.
Three transporters ceased to operate at the Bratislava Airport in 2009, with SkyEurope Airlines going bankrupt in September. Seagle Air went out of business at the end of 2009. The third carrier, Wizz Air, has also shut down its regular Bratislava-Rome airlink.
The airport is attempting to compensate the lack of transporters by establishing contracts with new carriers. As of May, the Polish LOT - Polish Airlines should launch new regular Bratislava-Warsaw flights. Talks with the Travel Service company are pending as well, with this charter carrier set to begin operations in Bratislava this summer. Ryanair (Ireland) also plans to expand the number of its flights.
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