Last year, the Prague Airport Group reported a gross profit of 145 million crowns
“Even from the point of view of operating management, we can be slightly optimistic, because we achieved a slightly positive result and we stopped further deepening of our company’s indebtedness. The year 2021 was also marked by the renewal of connections and an increase in the number of frequencies to already served destinations. We have welcomed five new carriers and added connections to six destinations, including remote brand new exotic destinations. The German carrier Eurowings opened its operating base in Prague in November, “commented Jiří Pos., Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Airport, last year.
According to the ACI Europe airline, Czech air transport is one of the countries hardest hit by the covid crisis in Europe. According to the airport, the spring was especially critical, when the number of passengers dropped to a minimum, but in the summer the situation began to improve.
Alarm at Prague Airport, April 12, 2022
The parent company Letiště Praha closed last year with a gross profit of 190 million crowns. Year-on-year, it fluctuated from a loss of 459 million crowns in 2020. According to Pose, the smaller operation of the airport used its infrastructure for modernization and repairs, which it suspended the year before last due to large losses. “We have also placed emphasis on sustainable development. Related to this is the support of the financial stability of the entire group. We have concluded a credit facility of seven billion crowns with a consortium of banks. We will also partially finance the provision of sustainable development, “added Pos.
The subsidiary Czech Airlines Handling, which handles check-in at the airport, ended up losing 47 million crowns last year, and still remains 79 million crowns lower. The head of the company, Tomáš Svoboda, reminded that the acquisition of new customers, such as Finnair, EgyptAir or Eurowings, helped the company to reduce it. Cargo handling has also increased.
Another subsidiary, Czech Airlines Technics (CSAT), which is in charge of maintenance and repairs of aircraft and aircraft technology, reported a profit of two million crowns in 2021. The year before, she had a loss of 132 million crowns. “The first part of the year was marked by the contract, and this strongly affected its setting. Finally, we continued the newly introduced aircraft parking service and expanded our cooperation with leasing companies in the segment of overhauls of aircraft chassis as well as heavy maintenance. In the second part of the year, thanks to this, it once again fully utilized all capacities, “said Pavel Haleš, CSAT head.
This year, traffic at Prague Airport is growing faster than originally expected. The airport handled around 1.4 million passengers in the first quarter, which is about 40 percent of traffic from the pre-crisis period, but this is significantly more than last year. The airport now estimates that it should handle up to 9.6 million passengers for the whole year, despite the cessation of flights to Ukraine and Russia. That’s a million more than predicted at the beginning of the year. Before the crisis, the airport handled 17.8 million passengers a year. Traffic should continue to grow during the summer, when the airport will offer direct flights to approximately 150 destinations.