| Pardubice Airport Letiště Pardubice |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Departure lounge | |||
| IATA: PED – ICAO: LKPD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | EBA a. s. | ||
| Location | Pardubice | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 741 ft / 226 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 8,202 | 2,500 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2009) | |||
| Passengers | 49,032 | ||
| Passenger growth 08-09 | -43.6% | ||
| Cargo | 343,000 kg | ||
| [1] | |||
Pardubice Airport (in Czech: Letiště Pardubice) is a military airport permitted to handle international civil air traffic. It is located next to city of Pardubice, Czech Republic.
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In 1910 Jan Kašpar, an engineer and aviation enthusiast, and his cousin Eugen Čihák bought an airplane Bleriot XI and started with flight experiments on the local military exercise ground in Pardubice. On April 16, 1910 Kašpar flew for the first time and as the first person in Czech lands, about 2 km. In later years he arranged flight exhibitions over the country, most famous being his flight from Pardubice to Prague (120 km) on May 13, 1911.
The first flying club in Czech lands was founded in Pardubice on April 26, 1911. The club, named Aviation society in Pardubice (Aviatické družstvo Pardubice) had five hangars but the war had stopped its activities. After the war the place held occasional flight exhibitions. Since the end of 1929 the airport was used as a training place for aviation enthusiast; expanded to 25 hectares it was one of the largest in the country. Since 1933 the airport was also used for glider training. During 1936 - 1937 new modern airport facilities were built.
During World War II the airport served for training of Luftwaffe pilots, toward the end of the war for combat operations and was destroyed by bombing.
Since 1950 the airport the airport was used only for the military. 2,500 m long concrete runway was built and pilot training centre established. The airport hosted 4th and 18th Fighter Air Wings (4. stíhaci a 18. stíhací letecký pluk) equipped with S-199, MiG-15, C-2, C-5, C-11, MiG-19S, MiG-19PM, MiG-21F and Mi-1 helicopters, 47th Reconnaissance Wing (47. průzkumný letecký pluk) with MiG-21R, Il-28L, Il-14 and later with Su-22 and since 1986 30th Strafer Wing (30. bitevní letecký pluk) with Su-25K. Large support military units were located next to the airport and in the city.
During the 1990s the military role of the airport was gradually reduced. Since 1994 the airport was used as a training base (34. základna školního letectva) but in 2003 the army reduced role of the airport to provide maintenance and logistics.
In 1993 a company East Bohemian Airport a.s. aiming to open the airport for civil use was formed. Officially, the airport was opened for civil operation on May 18, 1995. Since November 1, 1996 the airport is authorized for operation under the IFR rules.
The airport is used for charter flights to the Southern Europe during summer season, to transport Russian tourists into the Czech Republic and for cargo flights (including flights by An-124).
In 2007 traffic peak the airport handled 93,659 of passengers (about 85% from Russia)[2] and 888 tonnes of cargo, in 2009 hardly influenced by financial crisis 49,032 of passengers, 343 tonnes of cargo and 994 movements.[3]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian Air Charter | Seasonal: Burgas, Varna |
| Czech Connect Airlines | Moscow-Domodedovo [begins 5 November] |
| Sky Express | Charter: Moscow-Vnukovo |
| Transaero Airlines | Moscow-Domodedovo |
| Travel Service | Seasonal: Antalya, Burgas, Heraklion, Karlovy Vary, Kos, Rhodes |