Ostrava Airport has opened an air cargo terminal called Cargo 2 at the airport in Mošnov in the Novojičín region (25 minutes south of Ostrava). It cost CZK 139 million (€5.6 million) to build and was constructed by the Ostrava company HSF System. The terminal will increase the airport's capacity and improve the quality of cargo handling, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports.
The new hall is directly connected to the check-in area and has an entrance and exit for trucks. The terminal brings two major advantages, according to airport CEO Jaromír Radkovský. "One of those things is that we will double the capacity because the hall has 4,500 sqm. We had a capacity of only 2,000 sqm today. The second thing is that the clearance technology will speed up to about double the current amount of cargo," Radkovsky said. He also mentioned that the airport will handle 16,000 t of cargo this year, which is 500 t more than last year. "We hope that the numbers will only grow because the potential here is for double that," the director expressed. He would like to get to a full capacity of 36,000 t in three or four years. But the airport won't be doing it alone; it wants to lease part of the hall to partners.
Currently, cargo accounts for 20 percent of the airport's revenue. "My target is to get to about 40 percent. But already that 20 percent has enabled us to make the airport profitable last year for the first time in many years. This year we are also planning a profit and I hope that there will always be a profit at the airport," Radkovsky said. Last year's profit was CZK 4.99 million (€199,000) and revenues were CZK 332.4 million (€13.5 million). The airport paid for the construction of the terminal partly from a loan and from its own resources, while the Moravian-Silesian Region, which owns the airport, contributed around CZK 90 million (€3.7 million).
Currently, another airport stand is being built in Mošnov, which should be connected to other cargo halls that will be built by private investors. However, the airport will be facing a huge investment in the runway in the coming years. The total cost of reconstructing the runway, including all taxiways and stands whose surfaces are no longer suitable, is estimated at CZK 4.5 billion (€183 million). At the moment, a building permit is pending and a tender for a contractor is planned for next year. The airport has regular cargo services to Germany and Asia. In terms of passenger transport, in addition to regular flights to London and Warsaw, Ostrava Airport offers seasonal flights to summer destinations in Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Turkey and Spain.
