ACU Dec-18 Final LR

AIRPORTS
Prague welcomes record 16.8 million passengers in 2018
P R A G U E : C z e c h Re p u b l i c 's
increasing popularity in the global
tourism industry has resulted to a
record 16.8 million passengers
handled at the Václav Havel Airport
Prague by the end of 2018.
This is the third year in a row that
Prague airport handled a record
increase in passenger traffic with the
latest figure representing a 9%
increase than 2017, making it one of
the fastest growing airports in Europe.
The airport expects to welcome
more travellers in 2019. On average, it
services 46,000 passengers per day
with July as the busiest month. The
largest number of passengers, a total
of 1.7 million, travelled to London,
where all six international airports have
direct connections to Prague.
“For the third year in a row, Prague
Airport has reported a record number
of serviced passengers. We are
expecting approximately 1.4 million
passengers more in 2018 compared to
2017. The growth is anticipated to
continue in 2019, both in terms of the
number of passengers, where the
expected increase is 3 to 5%, and in the
number of direct routes,” said Vaclav
Rehor, Chairman of the Board of
Directors at Prague Airport.
During the third quarter of 2018, the
airport recorded a 9.3% growth in the
number of serviced passengers, while
the European average over the same
period was 5%.
Prague Airport has responded to
this trend by investing in various
development projects. “Next year, we
are planning to open new check-in
counters in Terminal 1 and a brand new
check-in island in Terminal 2. We will
finish the redevelopment of aircraft
parking stands in pier B, where we will
also modernize two departure gates.
We will also start reconstruction and
expanding our baggage sorting
facility,” said Rehor.
South Africa and Thailand now officially 'airport sisters'
JOHANNESBURG: O.R. Tambo
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t a n d
Suvarnabhumi International Airport
are now officially “sisters” after signing
a Memorandum of Understanding
that calls for strategic links for mutual
benefits.
Airports Company South Africa and
the Airports of Thailand Public
C o m p a n y L i m i t e d a g r e e d t o
undertake joint marketing and
promotions as well as exchange of
staff and information that include
statistics on traffic and financial data,
and best practices in airpor t
d e v e l o p m e n t , o p e r a t i o n a n d
management.
Bongiwe Mbomvu, Acting CEO of
Airports Company South Africa and Dr.
Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, president of
Airports of Thailand, signed the MoU
last month.
The two companies will also
collaborate in marketing and
promoting activities aimed at
expanding passenger and air cargo
traffic between the two airports.
Mbomvu said their company is keen
to demonstrate what it has to offer as
well as learn from its colleagues in
Thailand which is known for its multibillion
tourism industry.
“The airports business worldwide is
undergoing rapid transformation to
cope not only with growing passenger
numbers but also with demands for
extremely high levels of digitisation
and automation of services. We
believe that this agreement will benefit
both parties in striving to stay ahead of
market trends,” said Mbomvu.
Airports Company South Africa
continues to benefit from a similar
agreement with Munich Airport
signed in 2015.
“We have gained much through this
structured cooperation that enables
the parties to identify where and how
they can both benefit,” said Mbomvu.