M. R. Štefánik Airport

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Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport
Bratislava Airport
Letisko Milana Rastislava Štefánika
Letisko Bratislava
IATA: BTS - ICAO: LZIB
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airport Bratislava, a.s. (BTS)
Serves Bratislava
Elevation AMSL 436 ft (133 m)
Coordinates 48°10′12″N, 17°12′45″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
04/22 9,515 2,900 Concrete
13/31 10,466 3,190 Concrete

Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport (Slovak: Letisko Milana Rastislava Štefánika) (IATA: BTS, ICAO: LZIB), also called - especially in English - Bratislava Airport (Slovak: Letisko Bratislava) or Bratislava-Ivanka, in Bratislava is the main international airport of Slovakia.

It is named after general Milan Rastislav Štefánik (since 1993), whose aircraft crashed above Bratislava in 1919. The airport is run by the Letisko Milana Rastislava Štefánika – Airport Bratislava, a.s. (BTS), a public limited company. Till May 2004, the airport was run by the state-run entity Slovenská správa letísk (Slovak Airport Administration). In 2007, the airport served 2,024,142 passengers, representing a 4.5% increase compared to 2006 and almost a 700% increase compared to 2001.

Contents

[edit] Location

An aerial view of the airport.
An aerial view of the airport.

It is located 9 km (5.59 mi) to the north-east from the city center, covers an area of 4.77 km² (1.84 mi²) and is known for its extraordinarily good climatic conditions.

Bratislava Airport is located within a one-hour drive of Vienna (Austria), Brno (Czech Republic) and Győr (Hungary), covering a catchment area of four countries (Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia).

[edit] Characteristics

SkyEurope's Boeing 737-500 aircraft in Bratislava
SkyEurope's Boeing 737-500 aircraft in Bratislava

The first regular flight between Prague and Bratislava of the Czechoslovak Airlines was done in 1923, to the Vajnory airport (now closed). Preparatory works for the current airport started in 1947 and construction began in 1948, with two runways constructed (04/22, 1900 m and 13/31, 1500 m) and the airport was opened in 1951.

Today, it serves both scheduled and unscheduled, domestic and international flights. The current runways enable the landing of virtually all types of aircraft used in the world today.

The airport features two perpendicular runways (04/22 and 13/31), both of which underwent a complete reconstruction in the 1980s. Runway 13/31 is equipped for ICAO category 2 approach and landing.

Airport capacity is currently around 2 million passengers. Airport has three terminals: Departure terminal A, built in 1971, arrival terminal B (used for non-Schengen arrivals), built in 1994 and arrival terminal C (used for Schengen arrivals), built in 2006. A new terminal facility (B) and control tower was added in the 1990s. The number of passengers served decreased temporarily in the early 1990s due to competition by the nearby Vienna International Airport (which is only some 55 km/34.5 miles distant from Bratislava Airport), but it is quickly increasing since. In 2005, the airport served over 1 300 000 passengers, and in 2007 just above 2 million passengers. Further increase is expected.

Amenities and facilities: two bureaux de change, first aid, left luggage, lost baggage, one restaurant, bars, cafés, two VIP lounges, two airport business clubs, duty-free shops, and car rental. There are also facilities for the disabled. The parking lot near the terminal has 670 places and is used for short- and long-term parking.

[edit] Statistics

Passengers and cargo since 1997
Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Passengers 285,983 324,219 276,092 283,714 293,326 368,203 480,011 893,614 1,326,493 1,937,642 2,024,142
Cargo (tonnes) 1641 1443 1605 2878 3171 4831 10736 6972 3633 5055 n/a

[edit] Ground transportation

Bratislava Airport can be reached from the city centre, which is by road 12 km away, or from D1 motorway. Public transportation line No. 61 connects the airport to the city centre and the main railway station during the day. At night the airport is served by N61. Terravision, Blaguss and Slovak Lines also operate from this airport to Vienna. There is a taxi stand just near the entrance to the airport with MB Taxi and Profi Taxi companies.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Scheduled service

  • Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
  • Czech Airlines (Prague)
  • Lufthansa
  • Ryanair (Birmingham [begins 18 June], Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh [begins 24 September], Frankfurt-Hahn, Girona, London-Stansted, Milan-Bergamo, Stockholm-Skavsta)
  • SkyEurope (Athens [seasonal], Barcelona [seasonal], Birmingham, Bourgas [seasonal], Catania [seasonal], Cork, Dublin, Dubrovnik [seasonal], Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Košice, London-Luton, Malaga [seasonal], Manchester, Paris-Orly, Split [seasonal], Rome-Fiumicino, Thessaloniki [seasonal], Varna [seasonal])

[edit] Cargo service

  • DHL (European Air Transport) (Leipzig-Halle)

[edit] Charter operators

[edit] VIP and other operators

  • ABS Jet
  • Seagle Jet
  • VIP Air

The airport is also the base for the Slovak Government Flying Service. It is also served by Air Transport Europe and other carriers on ad-hoc passenger and freight charter flights.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links