Bratislava Airport

M. R. Štefánik Airport (Letisko M. R. Štefánika), also called – especially in English – Bratislava Airport (Letisko Bratislava), located approximately 9 km northeast of the city center of Bratislava, spanning over the area of three municipalities (Bratislava-Ružinov, Bratislava-Vrakuňa and Ivanka pri Dunaji). It is the main international airport of Slovakia. Shortly after the independence of Slovakia in 1993, it was named after general Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919), whose aircraft crashed near Bratislava in 1919. The airport is owned and run by Letisko M. R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava, a.s. (BTS). As of September 2014 the company is fully owned by the Slovak Republic via the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development.

Bratislava is a base for the Slovak Government Flying Service as well as Ryanair, AirExplore, and Smartwings Slovakia. During a brief period in 2011, the airport was also a secondary hub for Czech Airlines. Two maintenance companies, Austrian Technik Bratislava and East Air Company are also based at the airport. Air Livery has one painting bay for aircraft at the airport. The airport is category 4E for aircraft, and category 7 or 8 on request in terms of potential rescue.

Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located 49 km west of the city centre. Conversely, Bratislava Airport serves as a low-cost alternative for people from Vienna and the neighbouring areas.

Location
Bratislava Airport is located 9 km to the north-east of the city center, covering an area of 4.77 km2. It is within a one-hour drive of Vienna (Austria), Brno (Czech Republic) and Győr (Hungary), covering a catchment area of four countries. The nearest large international airport is Vienna International Airport approx. 50 km to the west.

Early years
The first regular flight between Prague and Bratislava started in 1923, by the newly formed carrier Czechoslovak Airlines. At that time the airport for Bratislava was in Vajnory, about 3 km away from the current airport. That airport is now closed. Preparation for the current airport started in 1947 and construction began in 1948. Two runways were constructed (04/22, 1900 m and 13/31, 1500 m) and the airport opened in 1951.

Development since the 1990s
The number of passengers served at Bratislava Airport decreased temporarily in the early 1990s due to competition from the nearby Vienna International Airport (which is only 55 km away from Bratislava Airport), but passenger numbers have been quickly increasing since, partly since Ryanair started traffic in 2004 marketing it as serving both Vienna and Bratislava. In 2005, the airport served 1,326,493 passengers; and in 2008, 2,218,545 passengers. Nevertheless, due to the economic downturn and the collapse of Slovak Airlines, SkyEurope, Air Slovakia and Seagle Air, the number of passengers has declined to just over 1.4 million in 2012, increasing again after 2014, and in 2018, the airport recorded the highest number of passengers in its history (2,292,712). In January 2019, the only domestic route of Slovakia Bratislava–Košice, and the Prague–Bratislava route were closed down by Czech Airlines.

Terminals
The airport has one terminal serving arrivals and departures, completed in July 2012 and replacing the original Terminal A, built in 1970 and demolished in January 2011. Terminal B, built in 1994 and designated to serve the non-Schengen arrivals and departures and Terminal C, built in 2006, are both currently out of service.

The current terminal includes 29 check-in desks located on the ground floor of the departures terminal, one of them designated for oversized baggage. In the non-public zones of the waiting area targeted at departing passengers, there are 13 gates, 8 in the Schengen and 5 in the non-Schengen area.

The airport is also home to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), where passengers on private, business and VIP flights are handled, as well as passengers of emergency flights and crew.

Other facilities
A new control tower was added in the 1990s. The parking lot near the terminal has 970 parking spots and is used for short- and long-term parking. The current capacity of the airport is over 5 million passengers per year. The offices of the Slovak Civil Aviation Authority are on the airport property.

Runways
The current runways enable the landing of virtually all types of aircraft used in the world today (except for Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8 or another aircraft of similar size). The airport features two perpendicular runways (04/22 and 13/31), both of which underwent a complete reconstruction in the 1980s. Runway 13/31 is equipped for the ICAO category IIIA approach and landing, while 04/22 is category I. Runway 04/22 is 2900 m long and 60 m wide. Runway 13/31 is 3190 m long and 45 m wide.

Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled, seasonal, and seasonal charter flights to and from Bratislava:

Buses and coaches

 * Bratislava – Public transportation trolleybus No. 61 connects the airport to the city centre and the central railway station during the day. At night the airport is served by bus N61 from the central railway station.
 * Vienna – FlixBus and Slovak Lines (jointly with Postbus) operate bus lines (25 services a day – approximately once every 45 minutes) to Vienna which stop also at the Vienna International Airport. The journey to Vienna city centre takes between 75 minutes and 90 minutes.
 * Other destinations – Slovak Lines also operates to destinations around Slovakia.

BUs No 61 in front of the terminal direct goes to Hlavna Stanica (Main bus station) from there one can take Bus No. 93 to city center (just two stops) to the presidential palace, also No. 44 will go to city center (but travel through the village and the castle)

from Airport its better to take Bus ticket for one hour (there is a machine in the bus stop, select for one hour, the machine will accept coins and card only)

Roads
Bratislava Airport can be reached by private car from the city centre, which is 9 km away, or from D1 highway. There is also a taxi stand just near the entrance to the airport with Taxi Slovakia company (taxi of other companies can be called by telephone but rates for the airport are usually higher). Long-term and short-term car parking is provided at the airport, in front of the terminal building.

Accidents and incidents

 * On 4 May 1919, M.R. Štefánik crashed on approach to Vajnory Airport, the predecessor to M. R. Štefánik Airport.


 * On 24 November 1966, an Il-18 on multi-leg TABSO Flight 101 from Sofia to East Berlin via Budapest and Prague crashed into the forested foothills of the Little Carpathians west of the airport, shortly after take-off from Bratislava Airport, where it had been grounded due to bad weather in Prague. All 74 passengers and eight crew members died.


 * On 28 July 1976, an Il-18 on ČSA Flight 001 from Prague crashed into the Zlaté Piesky lake just north-west of the airport while executing a go-around. 69 of 73 passengers and six crew members died in the crash. Two passengers later died in the hospital.


 * On 7 February 1999, a Boeing 707 aircraft crashed on takeoff from BTS. No one was injured.


 * On 6 June 1999, a BAE Hawk 200 aircraft crashed during the SIAD '99 air show, killing the pilot and one female spectator on the ground who was swept off the roof by the explosion.