27.01.2010 Bratislava airport welcomed 1 710 018 passengers in the past year and reached a historic record in the volume of freight transported!

2009 and the outlook for 2010

Letisko M.R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava handled 1 710 018 passengers at departures and arrivals in 2009 which is a 23% fall in comparison with the previous year. The reason for this was not only the economic crisis and the default of SkyEurope Airlines, but also a huge number of Slovaks returning from the British Isles. The outlook for 2010 remains realistic, in line with results for 2009.

“In general, we can say that 2009 was one of the hardest years in the history of civil aviation in Slovakia. The closure of the two most important airlines which called Airport Bratislava their home only accentuated the sensitivity of the Slovak market to the economic crisis and the instantaneous reduction in demand for air transport. At the same time, this period also further highlighted Bratislava’s and Slovakia’s limitations as an attractive destination for foreign visitors. The numbers of passengers were undoubtedly influenced by the fact, that many Slovak citizens ended their work activities abroad and returned back home due to the effect of the global economic crisis”, stated Zdeněk Schraml, the chairman of the board and the executive officer of Letisko M. R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava, a.s. (BTS).

The airport entered 2009 with realistic expectations and demands. The first effects of the crisis came as early as in the last few months of 2008 and the airport anticipated its full impact especially in the past year. Several scenarios were forecasted as potential outcomes of the crisis, of which unfortunately, the default of Sky Europe Airlines was realised. A subsequent end to the operations of Seagle Air only confirmed the difficult situation dominating air transport in Slovakia. To mitigate the effects of the crisis, the airport mainly focused on introducing various rationalisation and economic measures, which were aimed at keeping cost levels under control and consequently to offset the loss of earnings. At the same time, the airport concentrated on an active trading policy, focusing on performance and the stabilisation of relationships with existing air carriers, as well as creating solutions for the development of new partners’ activities.

Airport Bratislava handled 1 710 018 passengers in the past year, which is a 23% year-on-year decline in comparison with 2008. Airport Bratislava, similar to its neighbouring countries’ airports, registered a decrease in the number of passengers who crossed its threshold, as opposed to the continual growth recorded in previous years. Overall, 108 104 passengers flew on domestic routes, which was a 44% drop in comparison with the same period in the previous year. A falling interest in international transportation was milder with a 21% year-on-year fall; 1 595 559 passengers were carried on scheduled and charter flights which was 419 751 less than in the 12 months of 2008. Traditionally, the airport handled the most passengers during the summer months. The eighth month was the strongest, with 269 553 travellers opting for air transport from/to Bratislava; on the contrary, the weakest month was February with 95 266 handled passengers. The number of movements declined from the former 34 874 in 2008 to 29 481 in the past year which was a year-on-year decline of 16%.

”2009 was especially noteworthy for the volume of handled freight. We even managed to reach a historic record in this area. It is mainly thanks to DHL Express, who is our most significant cargo carrier. In the past year, the company extended their connection between Leipzig and Bratislava to Sofia, which contributed to an increased flow of freight in both directions. Our ambition is to continue developing cargo activities this year and to effectively utilize our free capacity”, Z. Schraml added.

In 2009, regular connections to and from Bratislava were provided by 7 air carriers, which was one carrier more than in 2008. Bratislava Airport offered 38 regular destinations throughout the year, in comparison with 31 in the previous year.

The Irish airline Ryanair became the top passenger airline at Bratislava Airport with 781 745 transported passengers. It replaced the Slovak company SkyEurope Airlines at top spot who fell to the second place with 365 104 transported passengers. Seagle Air completed the top three with 235 640 passengers on board their flights.

London grabbed the top spot to become the most favourite destination (299 658 passengers), followed by Milan – Bergamo in Italy (103 672 passengers) and the local destination of Košice (100 047 passengers). Holiday-makers chose Hurghada as their top holiday destination (72 407 passengers), followed by the Turkish Antalya (71 700 passengers) and Monastir in Tunisia (29 836 passengers). As charter destinations, Hurghada and Antalya also managed to attain the top 10 most successful destinations with flights from Airport Bratislava, reaching 4^th and 6^th place respectively.

DECEMBER PERFORMANCE

The last month of 2009 saw an overall number of 101 185 passengers pass through the airport, which is 14 082 less in comparison with the same period in 2008. International transport registered only a slight 5% year-on-year fall (the number of passengers fell from 102 010 in 2008 to 96 567 in December 2009); however a very significant 68% slump was notable with regard to domestic transport, where the numbers plummeted from the former 13 060 to 4 119 transported passengers.

December was a positive month for non-scheduled transport, as the number of passengers grew year-on-year from 4 661 to 7 202, which is an increase of 55%. Another successful story was provided by freight transport, which saw an increase in the volume of handled goods from 803 to 881 tonnes, which is an increase of 10%.

Among all the carriers in December, Ryanair came top with the most transported passengers (78 254 passengers), followed by the local airline VIP Wings (flying under Danube Wings) with 6 331 passengers and the third place was attained by Czech Airlines, who transported 5 300 of the travelling public to/from Prague.

London was the most favourite destination (22 332 passengers), followed by Milano – Bergamo (8 593 passengers) and Dublin (5 884).

OUTLOOK FOR 2010

The Airport’s priority for 2010 lies in the finalisation of the construction and the launch of the first phase of the departures terminal, to where operations are scheduled to move at the beginning of the summer season, i.e. in the months of May – June. At the same time, the Airport will do its best to attract new air carriers to our market and to continue expanding the network of destinations and the frequency of flights to the already existing destinations. However it is important to remember, that a higher number of flight routes does not automatically guarantee a growth in the number of passengers. “The number of passengers will predominantly depend on the willingness of people to travel, whilst having in mind that the demand for this line of services will be determined by the state of the national economy and the living standard of people on one hand, and on the promotion of Slovakia abroad on the other, which will be crucial to the number of foreigners heading to Slovakia,” Z. Schraml concluded.

In 2010, the Airport expects a stabilisation of performance at the levels seen in 2009. The number of air carriers will be expanded by the Polish airline LOT, whose services will above all offer a greater variety and a wider choice of connecting flights to their customers. Another positive contribution to holiday-makers’ options will be the entry of the renowned charter carrier Travel servis to the Slovak market, which will provide charter transport at Airport Bratislava.

STATISTICAL DATA

TOP 5 DESTINATION in scheduled traffic

	Destination	Number of passengers in 2009	Number of passengers in 2008
1.	London – Stansted and Luton	299 658	367 888
2.	Milan - Bergamo	103 672	113 937
3.	Košice	100 047	192 642
4.	Prague	72 369	92 321
5.	Dublin	70 852	150 561

TOP 5 DESTINATION in non-scheduled traffic

	Destination	Number of passengers in 2009	Number of passengers in 2008
1.	Hurghada	72 409	94 581
2.	Antalya	71 700	53 127
3.	Monastir	29 836	41 652
4.	Rodos	29 582	32 288
5.	Burgas	25 633	34 627

TOP 5 air carriers in scheduled traffic

	Airline	Number of passengers in 2009	Number of passengers in 2008
1.	Ryanair	781 745	762 217
2.	SkyEurope Airlines	365 104	804 723
3.	Czech Airlines	72 369	76 934
4.	VIP WINGS (Danube Wings)	50 185	-
5.	Wizz Air	14 356	-

TOP 5 air carriers in non-scheduled traffic

P.č.	Airline	Number of passengers in 2009	Number of passengers in 2008
1.	Seagle Air	235 640	3 900
2.	Air Slovakia	56 541	251 256
3.	SKY Airlines	19 665	-
4.	Bulgarian Air Charter	16 714	22 591
5.	Koral Blue Airlines	14 265	14 193

Development of individual types of transport in December 2009/December 2008

Type of transport	XII.09	XII.08	%
*International traffic*	96567	102010	0,95
*Domestic traffic*	4119	13060	0,32
*Other traffic*	499	197	2,53
TOTAL (passengers)	101185	115267	0,88
*Scheduled traffic*	93480	110408	0,85
*Non-scheduled traffic*	7206	4662	1,55
*Other traffic*	499	197	2,53
TOTAL (passengers)	101185	115267	0,88
*International traffic*	1204	1344	0,90
*Domestic traffic*	184	173	1,06
*Other traffic*	429	511	0,84
Aircraft movements	1817	2028	0,90
Freight traffic (in tons)	881,219	802,563	1,10
Mail traffic (in tons)	6,159	13,2	0,47

Development of individual types of transport between January - December 2009/2008

Type of transport	I.09	II.09	III.09	IV.09	V.09	VI.09
*International traffic*	89318	84099	96510	110133	118682	166629
*Domestic traffic*	11355	9877	10079	13187	12690	12660
*Other traffic*	503	1290	305	361	353	398
TOTAL (passengers)	101176	95266	106894	123681	131725	179687
*Scheduled traffic*	97154	90294	98765	114371	116856	118516
*Non-scheduled traffic*	3519	3682	7824	8949	14516	60773
*Other traffic*	503	1290	305	361	353	398
TOTAL (passengers)	101176	95266	106894	123681	131725	179687
*International traffic*	1157	1033	1210	1211	1371	1828
*Domestic traffic*	201	182	209	348	326	334
*Other traffic*	385	455	476	996	874	998
Aircraft movements	1743	1670	1895	2555	2571	3160
Freight traffic (in tons)	651,14	607,54	841,49	705,92	893,83	1296,6
Mail traffic (in tons)	8,6	8,0	8,6	7,2	6,37	6,07

Type of transport	VII.09	VIII.09	IX.09	X.09	XI.09	XII.09	TOTAL I.-XII.09	TOTAL I.-XII.08
*International traffic*	226813	260450	146686	107529	92143	96567	1595559	2015310
*Domestic traffic*	9628	8744	5461	5780	4524	4119	108104	193442
*Other traffic*	458	359	476	1018	335	499	6355	9840
TOTAL (passengers)	236899	269553	152623	114327	97002	101185	1710018	2218592
*Scheduled traffic*	131968	171329	88496	95551	88725	93480	1305505	1753752
*Non-scheduled traffic*	104473	97865	63651	17758	7942	7206	398158	455000
*Other traffic*	458	359	476	1018	335	499	6355	9840
TOTAL (passengers)	236899	269553	152623	114327	97002	101185	1710018	2218592
*International traffic*	2141	2481	1608	1257	1236	1204	17737	22641
*Domestic traffic*	313	282	201	206	191	184	2977	2416
*Other traffic*	1023	917	884	808	519	429	8767	9817
Aircraft movements	3477	3680	2693	2271	1946	1817	29481	34874
Freight traffic (in tons)	1230,4	1065,26	1308,27	1225,95	1194,95	881,219	11902,555	6960,649
Mail traffic (in tons)	4,36	3,63	3,74	3,94	5,06	6,159	71,662	93,756