Prague in the name of the airport? Deceiving passengers, lawyers say
“I am wondering if we should call our airports a little different in our marketing and business offers – following the example of foreign airports, to include the capital in the name. This is a completely common practice abroad. It would not be a whole change of name, but only a kind of ‘expansion’ in communication with military society, “said MP Martin Kolovratník (YES).
According to Kolovratník, this could be one of the tools for Pardubice Airport to attract new passengers. In the thirty year, there was a roughly percentage decrease in the number of transported persons. In 2019, the airport transported over 102,000 of them. The modern terminal, which opened at the beginning of 2018, has a capacity of up to 250,000 passengers per year.
They did not recommend the change
The airport management thought in a similar way and therefore asked the law firm to assess such a possibility. However, she did not recommend the change, as it could lead to deception of business partners or passengers. “While fully respecting the legal assessment, we will look for other ways to properly promote the proximity of Pardubice from Prague,” said airport director Hana Šmejkalová.
The opinion of lawyers sounds a bit strange, as the practice at European airports is completely different. Especially low-cost airlines normally attract passengers with the names of metropolises, which are often more than a hundred kilometers away.
Internet search engines
At the same time, Kolovratník’s proposal provided that the official name of the airport would remain unchanged, such as the LKPD and PED codes, which are used in the same way in air traffic. The name of the metropolis would attract mainly airlines and passengers. “These are mainly internet search engines, so that if you enter Prague as a destination, it will find you years in Pardubice. It works similarly in other large cities. When you enter London in the search engine, not only flights to London’s largest airport, Heathrow, but also to Stansted and the airport around London will appear, ”explained another Kolovratník.
However, Kolovratník’s proposal evokes rather amused reactions on social networks. “Why bother, what do you call Tokyo West,” wrote Jan Tetřev. Other discussants do not consider the change of airport name to be a significant issue. “I think the MP has more important things to do than come up with such nonsense,” Andrea Kopalová said on Facebook.
At present, Pardubice Airport has two scheduled flights. The Ukrainian company SkyUp flies to Kiev four times a week, and the largest European airline Ryanair then operates a seasonal flight to Alicante, Spain.