Bratislava Airport: 77 Scheduled Routes To 63 Destinations Available This Summer

Bratislava, 29 March (TASR) - The summer flight schedule of M. R. Stefanik Airport (BTS) in Bratislava, effective from 29 March to 24 October 2026, offers 77 scheduled routes to 63 destinations across 29 countries, the highest number in the airport's history, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) and BTS general director Dusan Novota told a press conference on Sunday. When combined with charter flights for travel agencies to more than 40 destinations in 15 countries, the airport will serve 80 different destinations in total. "We're rewriting the airport's 75-year history. The summer flight season is opening with truly record-breaking figures," said Raz, adding that the increase in routes could be attributed to Wizz Air opening its base in Bratislava and launching a Bratislava–Kosice route. In addition, the closure of Wizz Air and Ryanair bases in Vienna, along with the subsequent transfer of flights to Bratislava, has also contributed to this increase. "Previously, people travelled to Vienna and departed from there; now, many people from Vienna are coming to this airport. With this record increase in passengers come many challenges," said Raz, asking passengers to respect check-in times and arrive two hours early. In this context, he said public transport will need to be strengthened as well, noting that a bus company has already applied for a licence to operate a route between Bratislava Airport and central Vienna. According to Novota, the total of 77 scheduled routes represents a twofold increase compared to last year's 39 scheduled routes to 36 destinations in 17 countries. He added that the airport is becoming a medium-sized hub capable of operating attractive routes. "Over the last six months, we've handled more than 1.2 million passengers," stated Novota, adding that the airport has increased its headcount by 80 over the past three months and acquired new equipment. "The summer season will be extremely busy, but the airport will handle it. The terminal's capacity is five million passengers per year. We expect around two million passengers during the summer months, with roughly four million passengers in total for 2026," he added. During the summer period, a total of 21,000 flights are planned, including more than 17,000 scheduled and over 4,000 charter flights. Last year, there were some 10,000 flights during the summer season, according to Novota. jrg