Resumption of Bratislava-Prague Flights to Be Reviewed by Transport Ministries

Bratislava, 24 April (TASR) - The transport ministries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic will assess the possibility of resuming a regular air service between Bratislava and Prague, which hasn't been in operation for more than seven years, the transport ministers of both countries, Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) and Ivan Bednarik, concurred during their meeting in Prague this week, the Slovak Transport Ministry posted on social media on Friday. The Czech transport minister confirmed that the issue of resuming Bratislava-Prague flights has already been discussed. "Anything that increases the mobility of the people of either country makes sense," said Bednarik, adding that everything will depend on economic indicators. Bednarik described the restoration of the Kosice-Bratislava air route - which originally operated as part of the extended Kosice-Bratislava-Prague route - as a very successful project. "Perhaps we'll find a way to meet that requirement," he said. Raz agreed to discuss restoring the Bratislava-Prague air route. "I think that the route would be a great success. Let's talk to the carriers to see if we can find a commercial justification, and if not, let's replicate the public service model," he said, pointing out that the domestic Bratislava-Kosice route, which Wizz Air has been operating since November 2025, is supported by the state. The regular Prague-Bratislava-Kosice flight route ceased to operate more than seven years ago, on 11 January 2019. The route, with a stopover in Bratislava, was operated by Czech carrier CSA. CSA cited insufficient capacity of suitable aircraft types following the retirement of three ATR 42 aircraft as the main reason for discontinuing the service. According to CSA, deploying larger-capacity jet aircraft on the route didn't make economic sense. CSA had previously resumed the Prague-Bratislava-Kosice round-trip route on 11 December 2013. The route between Prague, Bratislava and Kosice was the oldest Czechoslovak air connection. The first commercial flight of the then Czechoslovak State Airlines took place from Prague to Bratislava on 29 October 1923, and the route was extended to Kosice on 12 May 1924. am/df