Karlovy Vary Airport Now Offers Commercial Aircraft Maintenance Facilities

Karlovy Vary, 29 September 2021
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic impacted the Karlovy Vary Regional Airport summer season. Regular flights could not be resumed, the number of F Air school training flights was reduced. The airport management therefore attempted to determine ways of improving the financial results. Launching co-operation with AviTechnics in the segment of commercial aircraft maintenance was identified as one of the ways forward.

Two Airbus 321 commercial aircraft and one Airbus 320 from the Latvian Smartlynx Airlines fleet arrived in Karlovy Vary. AviTechnics will provide line maintenance to all three in turns. "A completely new source of airport income has thus been identified, which could at least partially compensate the loss in revenue. In addition, the airport continues to offer its ‘Fly & Visit’ packages for commercial flights. We will also try to speed up the resumption of regular route operations as much as possible," Jan Bureš, the Region’s Deputy Governor, stated.

The airport also continues working on the extension and widening of the runway. "In July 2021, the Ministry of the Environment issued a favourable binding opinion regarding the plan. Now, we can finalise the data for the selection of the supplier of the construction project documentation. The announcement of the tender is scheduled for the turn of October and November of this year," Václav Černý, Karlovy Vary Airport CEO, explained. The binding opinion on the plan contains 24 conditions which must be met in the plan preparatory phase, during its implementation, as well as subsequent operation.

This summer season (from May to August 2021), the number of commercial flights at Karlovy Vary Airport increased significantly (+ 80%), primarily thanks to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival held in the city, and the traffic thus generated.