LOM Prague is supposed to provide capacity for government flights
11/07/2022 – Czech Republic
Government of the Czech Republic at the end of June, in connection with the presidency of the Czech Republic in the Council of Europe, it addressed insufficient capacity on the flights between Prague and Brussels. According to Diary N propose four solutions to the Department of Defense.
The first was to rent an airplane from a private airline. Other options were the leasing of aircraft from the Slovak Air Force or from NATO transport and refueling aircraft squadrons, in which the Czech Republic participates. The last alternative was to secure capacity through a state-owned enterprise LOM Prague.
Logo of the state enterprise LOM Prague (source: LOM Prague)
The last option was finally approved by the government at its meeting. The government resolution states: “The government approves a solution in the event of the need to increase the transport capacity of government flights during the Czech Republic’s presidency of the Council of the European Union beyond the capabilities of the Army of the Czech Republic, consisting in the conclusion of a framework agreement for the comprehensive provision of the aforementioned service in the form of vertical cooperation with the state-owned enterprise LOM PRAHA.” At the same time, the government ordered the Ministry of Defense to ensure the implementation of this resolution. The advantage of this variant is that the entire implementation took place within the department of the Ministry of Defense. The most likely procedure is for LOM Prague to rent the necessary capacity from partner companies. The newspaper N stated that there is an attempt, that it could be a lease of the L-410 Turbolet aircraft.
The connection between Prague and Brussels will end during the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, the operating carrier flying from Prague to the main Brussels airport is a Belgian airline Brussels Airlines. It currently operates six rotations per week on the route with Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft. A company spokeswoman said that’s the maximum it can currently contain. The situation should improve from September, when Brussels Airlines flies on 18 rotations per week.
The low-cost airline Ryanair also operates flights to Brussels. However, its flights go to Charleroi Airport. The journey from this airport to the center of Brussels takes at least an hour by car, and an hour and 40 minutes by train.