According to the opinions of experts, every year approx. 300 thousand of the Slovak Republic citizens make use of the services provided for by the international Vienna airport which thus has become our important gate to the world.

The greatest airport of Austria is located nearby the community Schwechat, 16 km south-west from Vienna and 50 km west from Bratislava. The facility disposes with two landing and taking-off strips and its operation is 24 hours daily. The average density of take-offs or landings per day is 440 air-crafts - in the high season over 500 take-offs and landings are recorded (the period of holidays in summer months).

The advantage of its uninterrupted operation is appreciated mostly by the passengers on long-distance lines, e.g. from Far East. In the event the aircraft flies all the time supported by the wind, in the early morning hours it may land some hours ahead of schedule. Nothing prevents it from an immediate landing. At other airports, for instance in Frankfort on the Main, the flight operation begins at 6,00 a.m., and thus early air-crafts must fly round and wait to be allowed to landing till the specified hour. In the words of Hans Mayer from the press department of Flughafen Wien, joint-stock company, (VIA), already several years they have been succeeded in acquiring the 10% growth in the number of passengers. In 1997, it represented 9,7 million of persons and the airport management expects to exceed the magic limit of 10 million of passengers that year. The services provided for by the airport are used by 58 air companies weekly connecting 137 towns and cities world-wide. In addition, every year they accommodate 130 charter lines.

The first modern airport terminal was set in operation already in 1960 and its architecture was so progressively drafted that it has been serving, except for necessary modernisation of interiors and facilities, till present.

The stated scope of the transported passengers demands for corresponding services. The area of the airport serves also as a waiting area and thus the passengers request to pass their time in a pleasant atmosphere. In the words of Hans Mayer, "Only a person feeling himself well would also spend something in the shop and a greater turnover in shops increases the company's profit, too". Another matter of course, which a visitor from Slovakia registers at the first sight, is cleanness and high standard of the airport area. The employees of the facility have to be proud to the results of the survey of aprons carried out last year by a British company at 47 airports in Europe. The International airport Schwechat was gained the first position as the cleanest airport of our continent.

Travelling is inseparable without luggage - except for the lines for managers who fly away in the morning and return back in the evening only with a small suitcase. The luggage transport from and into the air-crafts is managed automatically, by means of computers. Via the barcode, 20 reading heads distinguishing the luggage regardless its position will shift it automatically after registration to the flight destination. The transport belts of the sorting line reach the length of up to 800 m.

Besides the classical services for the passengers (restaurants, shops and exchange services) the VIA company's management takes in account any unexpected situation that the passenger may be facing to. If his luggage is damaged, they repair its zip fastener, closure or handle, free of charge and not stop. The service repair of winter coats is another service offered to those passengers flying in winter on vacations to warm countries and come to the airport, of course, in winter coats - and they may check it for a charge and on their return pick it up. The safe deposits for valuable objects or keys are another matter of course as the passenger avoid their loss.

The health centre is available 24 hours not stop, too, and in any urgent cases they provide for also vaccination, if the passenger has had no time or has forgotten that he flies to the countries the regulations of which unconditionally request so.

For the solvent clients, being delayed for various reasons during their journey, the room service is available. They may rent a room directly in the terminal, to rest or make complete hygiene.

A curiosity of the international airport terminal is a chapel for the believers of various religions, available 24 hours. The VIA company's philosophy is to always keep up step in services with the customers' desires.

The growing number of passengers was one of the incentives why ten years ago the VIA company's management has launched significant changes aiming to complete the construction and equipment of the airport and to raise it to the global level. These included, for instance, the construction of a new shielded parking for 2,000 cars, a new modern take-off terminal, the third apron situated directly by a taking-off strip and other facilities connected with the equipment and interconnection of the airport. The investments amounted totally to 8 billion Austrian Schilling (ATS).

The airport economic activities are focused on profitability, in the airport management's opinion, reached every year in the last 16 years. Up to 70% of incomes come from the airport operation (clearance, attendance and service of air-crafts) and 30% from other activities (letting of commercial and banking areas, destinations of air companies, parking places, restaurants, hotels, forwarding companies, etc.).

The infrastructure itself of the airport forms an important item of the employee's system of Low Austria. Its district provides job opportunity for 10 thousand people in 230 firms and companies, and the prognoses until 2010 expect the growth by other 7,000 vacations. The VIA joint-stock company itself engages 2,500 employees at present.

Actually the VIA board of directors has processed the development general plan until 2015. As by 2010 they are investing additional 9 billion ATS for the construction works in the airport. That was the reason of purchasing another lots designed for enlarging the airport both in its capacity and support infrastructure, such as buildings and stocks that maybe profitably let for business activities.

Airport in Bratislava

Despite the fact that the international airport of M. R. Štefánik in Bratislava still has not reached the number of passengers transported before 1990, in the last four years the airport management have been recorded a permanent growth in the number of transported persons, also due to the period of vacations (the charter flights). In 1997, the airport gates were passed through by 285,983 passengers while almost 90% of flights were international and 10% represented the internal personal transport. According to another indicator, in 1997 16,604 movements of air-crafts were registered what means 45 engines per day.

The airport in Bratislava disposes with two landing and taking-off strips, and provides for non-stop operation all year round. Reconstruction of the strip 13-31 (light and control devices), meeting the international category III.A and allowing the landing of air-crafts not only in night but under the conditions of a worsened visibility, has considerably increased the air operation security.

The airport area includes other facilities improving the operation and meeting the demands of passengers, such as the building of a newly built up terminal reaching the European criteria and improving the services for customers mostly with take-offs and transits. The new terminal roofs four "free shops" available for the passengers (duty-free goods) according to the standards of international airports, with the offer of traditional folk-popular products from Slovakia. At the outset of summer an area was opened for passengers of the 1. and "business" classes (the businessmen's class) with all the attributes and services corresponding to the prices of air-tickets in these classes. Despite the technical and area improvements that would allow to serve 2 million passengers per year, the actual numbers certainly do not satisfy but even stimulate to look for a possible co-operation and collaboration with other airports (e.g. Schwechat), national carriers or other air companies. This situation is even emphasised by the fact that the European Union's experts consider the geographical triangle of Vienna, Bratislava and Gyor as one of the perspective areas for developing business activities in the closest years. The stated triangle has got all presumptions to be associated to the important business centres of Europe and the international airport Schwechat is the greatest transport phenomenon within this area what re-opens a perspective of the mutual collaboration.

Slovak Trade FORUM