Could you present
to our readers in a nutshell the main functions
and the history of the Czech Airports Authority?
The Czech Airports Authority and especially the
Prague Ruzyne Airport have a very long history.
The name of the company operating the airport has
been changed many times during these years, and
also the position of the company within the different
governmental bodies. I will speak about the last
years, the recent period of the Czech Airports Authority.
Until 1991, there was only one company - Czech Airlines,
which was the official Czech carrier and at the
same time it was airport operator. In 1991 there
were changes in this structure and the company was
divided into two separate parts, one for running
the airline and the second for operating the airports,
this is how the Czech Airports Authority was established.
At the beginning we had a very special legal status
- "allowance organization", but after
a short period we were transformed into a state
enterprise. That means we are owned by the state,
however we are operating on our own budget. We do
not receive any finance from the state budget if
I do not consider some donations that were received
by the company at the beginning of its operations,
like for the land acquisition or certain environmental
projects. Since the year 2000 we have not received
any grants from the state. We do not only operate
the Prague Ruzyne Airport, but also three other
regional airports in Brno, Ostrava and Karlovy Vary.
From July of year 2002 we implemented a pilot project
at the Brno and airport is partially in private
hands now. It is very similar to giving concessions
of the airport operations. We discussed this issue
in France with our colleagues, the way they are
operating the airports, and what are the concession
projects there. So it is very close to the French
concessions model of operation of the regional airports.
At the moment we are discussing the future of the
regional airports with the Ministry of Transport,
we are also discussing the position of the Czech
Airports Authority, whether it will go into regional
hands, or it will stay under the supervision of
the state, or it will be privatized. It has not
been decided yet, and there is no final stage on
this matter. However, as for the Prague Airport,
after the agreement with the Ministry of Transport
we have one priority, the extension and the construction
of the new terminal. Any transformation of the Czech
Airports Authority from state enterprise into stock
company will be done after the construction is finished.
What are the plans regarding the construction
of the new terminal and how will it increase your
capacities?
This construction will increase our capacity substantially.
I remember, in 94/95 the old terminal had an operating
capacity of 2.3 million passengers per year and
there were 3.2 million passengers passing through
this terminal, so we were 1 million over the projected
capacity. When you look at the statistics, in 1991,
there were only 1.5 million passengers going through
this terminal. However in 1994/95 we were at the
limits of the capacity, we had to start quickly
with the construction of the new terminal. In 1997
we increased capacity of the terminal to 4.8 million
passengers per year. We were lucky to have this
terminal because the growth of passengers numbers
was so high that we were not able to operate any
longer within the old terminal. Shortly after, we
had to add another "check-in" island within
the existing terminal. In the 2002 we already extended
Pier B to the full length (same as Pier A - 200m).
Now we have a yearly capacity of 6.4 million of
passengers but we are still looking for other improvements.
At the airport, there is never one time/final investment.
You always have to be flexible and adapt to the
number of passengers or to the new operational conditions.
Last year (2001) we had 6.1 million passengers and
even though the floods affected the traffic at Prague
Airport more than September-11, we expect to reach
at least the same figures in 2002 year. The number
of passengers is steadily increasing so we are very
close to the limits of the terminal again. Not only
the growing number of passengers, but also the approach
of the EU, and the Schengen Agreement is forcing
us to the construction of the new terminal and building
new facilities for this type o traffic. Till the
end of 2005 we expect to have finished construction
of the new terminal that will allow us to divide
the traffic, one especially for Schengen passengers
and the rest for the non-Schengen. Once we finish
the construction, we will have even free capacity
for next years, however till this time we will have
to run the airport over its projected capacity for
the next two-three years. We expect the Schengen
traffic to grow faster after joining the EU and
that is why the new terminal will be built for those
type of traffic. These are our plans for the near
future, for the years 2003-2005.
What are the new services, such as cargo, or
the rental of shops and office spaces for example,
you are developing along with the new terminals?
As for cargo services we are not as well developed,
as one would expect it. We have prepared and selected
area for the cargo zone within master plan of the
Prague Ruzyne Airport. Now, because of the construction
of new terminal, the Czech Airlines cargo terminal
has to move to this new area within two years. We
believe that the cargo will grow more substantially.
Everything depends on the situation after joining
the EU, on the economical level of the Czech Republic.
Prague airport is not a primary hub within Europe,
we need to extend our long-haul services and this
will bring with it the development of the cargo
transport. Today, trucks within Europe transport
most of the cargo and it is a strong competition
for aviation in Europe. All this part of our revenues
and when speaking about them at the Prague Airport,
60% of revenues come from aeronautical charges (landing
fees, noise, passenger and parking charges). The
rest comes from non-aeronautical activities such
as rental of offices and shops, car-park fees, advertisement,
etc.
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Do you expect this
ratio to change?
We are working on changing this ratio. If we compare
it with the previous period, we had 70% of revenues
from aeronautical activities, so it is improving.
The privatization of the Czech Airports Authority
is one of the possibilities for your development.
Could you tell us about your plans, your expectations
and from your point of view, what are the advantages
that it would give you?
This does not only depend on Czech Airports Authority.
It will be decided together with the Ministry of
Transport. The most important question is how ministry
will cope with the operation of regional airports
in the Czech Republic. To operate an airport, as
the one in Prague, is easier because we have sufficient
passenger traffic and movements of the aircrafts,
however the regional airports have to face the problem
of lack of passengers and they need support. After
setting these decisions on running of regional airports,
there is time to solve the future of Prague Ruzyne
airport, the main gateway into the Czech Republic.
Since the CSA has joined the Sky Team. Could
you tell us how it affected your work at the airport?
We are the hub of the Czech Airlines. We can mainly
notice it on the number of the transfer passengers.
with more than 20% growth comparing 2002 to 2001.
We can see a much better utilization of the aircrafts
and better seat occupancy. The partners within the
Sky Team have the same experience here in Prague.
When we compare for example Amsterdam airport's
volume of passenger with the population surrounding
Amsterdam, it is approximately the same ratio as
in the Czech Republic. At the other hand, you cannot
increase very much the number of passengers, from
Prague to another destinations. From a certain level
of airport traffic volumes it is essential to start
to attract more transfer passengers and this is
very much associated with the airline or the group
of the air-carriers, that have their hub at the
airport. So we have now reached the position of
some other airports that they had a long time ago
when they started building themselves as hubs.
Can you tell us about your cooperation with Air
France, from the time when it was co-owner of CSA
and how are your relations now with Air France or
French companies?
Our cooperation has not changed significantly. We
are trying to keep our best relations with all the
airlines. Of course, the airlines always want the
best services for the lowest price and of course,
there are compromises all the time. We are in discussions
with the airlines, regarding our investments and
mainly with Czech Airlines, because they are the
most affected by our investments.
Air France belongs to the group of the most important
companies and they are very interested in the development
of the airport. Our relations are at least as good
as they were before CSA joined the Sky Team.
The latest challenge for the airport was the
NATO Summit when you had to carry out a lot of special
duties. How successfully was it carried out from
your point of view and what were the lessons you
were able to learn from it?
The Prague NATO Summit was success, not for the
airport only but also for the whole Czech Republic.
We were really afraid how we would be able to cope
with it after the floods in August. But we were
ready, the police was prepared very well, with appropriate
measures at the boarders, the army was also prepared
and the cooperation between these two the most important
subjects and all other involved was well coordinated.
Prague airport was prepared as well, we started
to discuss arrangements for the Summit at the beginning
of the year, especially arrangements in security
and operational area. The only problem we had till
short time before start of the Summit, we did not
know what type of aircrafts would the delegations
arrive with and we could not prepare for the parking
of the aircraft in advance. At the end we received
all relevant information a few days before the Summit
and we made it on time. What we learned from this
Summit was that we are able to do much more than
we expected and we learned a lot about the cooperation
with the police, army, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
etc.
Now, after having it accomplished would you do
it again?
Yes, why not. I think it is a very good opportunity
for Prague, the Czech Republic and the Airport to
show that we know how to do things correctly. And
it is a good promotion of the Czech Republic as
well.
As you know our readers are business people and
besides the business they also like to know about
the people we interview, could you tell us about
your professional background?
I studied in Prague at the Czech Technical University
at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. I majored
in Aviation, so I am working in area I studied.
I finished my studies in 1994 and since then I am
working for the Czech Airports Authority. I started
at the operational department, airport operation
control, after that I worked at the department responsible
for corporate strategy, then shortly within the
IT department and then I moved back to the operational
department worked as a deputy general director of
the airport operations. Since July 2002 I am at
the position of general director of the Czech Airports
Authority. I think it was quite a fast career, but
a lot of things depend on people you have around
and I have them.
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