Prague plots ‘passenger to cargo’ plan

Prague Airport has signed a memorandum with 12 companies to develop air cargo at the in the Czech Republic gateway.

The Prague Airport Cargo Point platform aims to boost the competitiveness and development of cargo at Václav Havel Airport.

A main goal is to make Prague more attractive for long-haul passenger carriers, reasoning that air cargo on passenger routes accounts for up to 25% of revenue, according to an IATA survey.

Chairman of the Prague Airport board, Jiří Pos, said: “Our main goal is promoting the efficient use of capacity,” pointing out that a significant proportion of cargo currently transported to the Czech Republic moves by road. Jiří Pos said that this could be replaced by available bellyhold capacity, especially on long-haul flights which can carry up to 20 tonnes each.

He added: “Passenger flights are now dependent on the transportation of air cargo, and the support of this area is thus crucial for the development of the current network of long-haul routes. We believe that we can build on the successful cargo platforms which are run, for example, in Brussels or Paris.”

The founding members of the Prague Airport Cargo Point platform are Prague Airport; road feeder service provider, Arrow Mobile; Czech Airlines; Qatar Airways Cargo; handling agents Menzies Aviation (Czech) and Skyport; the GSA cargo agencies of Globe Air Cargo and Sky.XS Aircargo, and forwarders Cargo-partner, DHL Global Forwarding, DSV Air & Sea and NNR Global Logistics UK.

The platform is also supported by the Association of Forwarding and Logistics of the Czech Republic.