Pardubice Airport
Pardubice Airport Letiště Pardubice | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | EBA a. s. | ||||||||||
| Serves | Pardubice, Czech Republic | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 741 ft / 226 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°00′48″N 15°44′19″E / 50.01333°N 15.73861°E | ||||||||||
| Website | airport-pardubice.cz | ||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (2013[1]) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Pardubice Airport (Czech: Letiště Pardubice) is a military airport permitted to handle international civil air traffic in the city of Pardubice, Czech Republic. It is mainly used for charter flights to Southern Europe during the summer season, to transport Russian tourists into the Czech Republic and for cargo flights.
History
Early years
In 1910 Jan Kašpar, an engineer and aviation enthusiast, and his cousin Eugen Čihák, bought a Bleriot XI aeroplane and started with flight experiments on the local military exercise ground in Pardubice. On 16 April 1910 Kašpar flew for the first time and as the first person in Czech lands. In later years he arranged flight exhibitions over the country, most famously his flight from Pardubice to Prague (120 km) on 13 May 1911.
The first flying club in the Czech lands was founded in Pardubice on 26 April 1911. The club, named Pardubice Aviation society (Aviatické družstvo Pardubice) had five hangars but during World War I its activities stopped. After the war the place held occasional flight exhibitions. Since the end of 1929 the airport was used as a training place for aviation enthusiasts; expanded to 25 hectares, it was one of the largest in the country. Since 1933 the airport was also used for glider training. Between 1936 and 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.
Development since World War II
Since 1950 the airport was used only for the military. A 2,500 m long concrete runway was built and a pilot training centre established. The airport hosted the 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, the 47th Reconnaissance Wing (47. průzkumný letecký pluk) with MiG-21R, Il-28L, Il-14 and later with Su-22 and since 1986 the 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 gradually declined. Since 1994 the airport was used as a training base (34. základna školního letectva) but in 2003 the army reduced the role of the airport to provide maintenance and logistics.
In 1993 the 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 18 May 1995. Since 1 November 1996 the airport has been authorised for operation under the Instrument flight rules.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Bulgaria Air | Seasonal charter: Burgas |
| SmartWings operated by Travel Service[3] | Seasonal: Burgas |
| Travel Service | Seasonal charter: Antalya, Burgas, Podgorica, Rhodes[4] |
Statistics
In 2007 the airport handled a peak of 93,659 of passengers (about 85% from Russia)[5] and 888 tonnes of cargo; in 2009, hit by the financial crisis, 49,032 passengers, 343 tonnes of cargo and 994 movements.[6]
References
- Citations
- ^ Airport outputs. Airport-pardubice.cz (24 January 2016).
- ^ Pardubice Airport – Outputs. Airport-pardubice.cz (30 October 2006).
- ^ "SmartWings Flight schedule". smartwings.com.
- ^ http://www.airport-pardubice.cz/editor/filestore/File/leto2012/leto2013/LETNI%20DESTINACE%202013.pdf
- ^ "Two flights between Pardubic and Moscow in a week" (in Czech). September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ Traffic statistics at the airport website. Airport-pardubice.cz (30 October 2006).
- Bibliography
- Journal ZPRÁVY Klubu přátel Pardubicka (Club of Pardubice Patriots News).[1] Articles written by Pavel Sviták and several other authors since the 1980s cover history of aviation in Pardubice.
- Pavel Sviták: První český letec inženýr Jan Kašpar a začátky českého letectví : příběh našeho prvního letce, jeho předchůdců, spolupracovníků a současníků s přihlédnutím k vývoji letectví ve světě (The first Czech pilot Jan Kašpar and the beginning of Czech aviation), 2003, East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice, ISBN 80-86046-65-6.
See also
External links
Media related to Pardubice Airport at Wikimedia Commons
