Brno-Tuřany Airport

Brno-Tuřany Airport (IATA: BRQ, ICAO: LKTB) is an airport near Brno, Czech Republic. 396,589 passengers passed through the Brno-Tuřany passenger terminal in 2010, an decrease of 10% on the previous year and even higher decrease compared to airport best year in history - 2008 when 506,174 passangers passed through it.

The airport was built during the 1950s as a replacement for the old Brno airport located in Slatina (north east of Tuřany airport). During the 1980s, the airport was handed over for use by the Czechoslovak air force, and civil operations were reduced to a minimum. After the fall of communism in 1989, the airport returned to civil use, and was operated by the state-owned Czech Airport Authority.

At present, the South-Moravian local government owns the airport, and it is operated by a private company, Brno Airport Ltd. Although charter and private flights still dominate at the airport, it has seen significant growth of scheduled service in the last years. Currently, four airlines operate scheduled passenger flights from the airport: Central Connect Airlines (CCA) and its subsidiary Czech Connect Airlines, Ryanair, Wizzair, and Yakutia Airlines. Charter flights are usually operated by Travel Service Airlines or Holidays Czech Airlines, the latter of which being the charter division of CSA Czech Airlines.

The terminal consists of two concourses. The new departure hall that opened in 2006 is capable of handling 1,000 passengers per hour. The building was designed by architect Petr Parolek and is considered to be one of the most significant projects of Czech contemporary architecture and a striking example of the growing trend of "organic architecture". Cargo airlines such as TNT, Volga-Dnepr or Antonov Design Bureau often use Brno Airport as one of their stopover points. The airport handled 6,273 tons of freight in 2008. Plans for building a new cargo terminal and industry zone are in talks of realization, which could take place in the near future.

Getting there

By car

Getting to the aerodrome by car is very simple, as the aerodrome is located still within the town territory, next to the D1 Brno-Olomouc motorway. Driving in the direction from Prague, at 201 km (125 mi) there is a motorway exit marked "Slatina" and the off-turn to the aerodrome is distinctly marked. The aerodrome is 2 km (1.2 mi) from the motorway exit.

By bus

You can easily get to Brno Airport from the city centre using the direct bus line No. 76 which departs from the Brno Main train station from 04:30 AM to 11:00 PM every half hour. After arrival, and before departure of the Ryanair plane to London, the bus goes every 20 minutes.

From the Brno Main train station the line 76 goes through the Main Bus Station (it stops near the tram terminus) and continues directly to the final stop at Brno Airport. New bus line 89 connects Brno Airport with city centre and northwest suburb also during the night.

The travel time from the centre to the airport is exactly 20 minutes. For one journey you need a 2-zone ticket valid for 40 minutes. These cost 22 CZK for adults, 11 CZK for children younger than 6 years or 80 CZK for 24 hour ticket.

From Brno you can travel by regular connections directly to the 3 capitals - Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria) and Bratislava (Slovakia). The journeys to Vienna and Bratislava take 1.5 hours by train, to Prague 2.5 hours by bus. There are also many connections to Olomouc (1.5 hours), Ostrava and Northern Moravia (2 hours) and Eastern Moravia (1.5 hours).

Airlines and destinations

Cargo airlines

Links

• Brno-Tuřany Airport website
• (English) (Czech) Photos and news from Brno airport

References