Bratislava Airport opens the new passenger terminal
The first stage of construction of the passenger terminal at Bratislava Airport has been finalized
Today, on 9th June 2010, the first half of the new passenger terminal at Bratislava M. R. Stefanik Airport has been open by the Prime Minister Robert Fico and other guests of honour. The first flights will depart from the new terminal as soon as of tomorrow, 10th June. The operation will start with domestic and Schengen flights of the home carrier Danube Wings, which will be followed by selected flights of other carriers in the next weeks. The full operation will move into the new terminal throughout June and July 2010.
After 16 months of intensive construction, the new passenger terminal has been opened by the symbolic cut of a ribbon. The first passengers of the morning flight to Kosice will enter the new premises already on 10th June. The new terminal is about to replace the former building from 1970s, which already has technical and capacity shortages. The new terminal will provide larger operational area. It also includes up-to-date handling and security technologies, optimizes passenger flows and enhances the comfort of passengers through a larger retail area, nice ambience and various service improvements.
The construction was running under full operation of the airport and the whole process has been managed without any flight delays or cancellations.
„I recall several moments when mainly long time employees of the airport have been moved during particular stages of the construction process, when for example it was necessary to demolish the original ground dispatching premises. These moments made everyone at the airport realize that times of change have come and a new era of the airport lies ahead.
Today´s festive moment will let us, the airport people, rest only for a few short moments and look back at the old times. Right tomorrow morning the new duties await us, as everyone needs to learn the new building and processes in it.
Even the construction people are not saying goodbye to the site, as the project continues with the second stage. In the next few months we are about to demolish the old terminal and replace it with the second part of the new building", said the airport´s CEO Mr Zdenek Schraml in his today´s opening address.
Public areas description
1. Check-in Zone
Ground floor of the new Terminal will be used for passenger check-in. The space is dominated by two check-in units, each of them containing 14 desks. This zone has been constructed to check-in at least 14 lines at one time.
In the ground floor, premises for check-in related services are located, in particular sales desks of airlines and handling agents, an oversized luggage desk and a customs workplace.
There will also be an information service available for Airport visitors, a newspapers stand and a coffee shop.
From architectural point of view, generosity of the Entrance Hall is magnified by a ceiling height of 20 meters which does not stretch to this height in any other part of the building. This makes the Entrance Hall airy and nicely illuminated by natural daylight. What makes this interior unique are check-in desks with overlapping canvas elements symbolising wings. Warm and cosy feeling is achieved by cherry wood lining of the walls. The theme of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who gave the name to the Airport, is in his life creed displayed on a decorative wall facing the main entrance to the building.
2. Mezzanine
The escalator will take you to the first floor which is an office and administrative area. This space will be used as a back office of all airlines and other business units operating in the Airport.
There is also a meeting room or, if you like, a press room on this floor. The stairs or the lift will take you to the 2nd floor, the Departures.
3. Security Control
The 2nd floor is a waiting, shopping and departure zone. The entrance is through a new multi-capacity security control which has available two fully automated and two standard cabin luggage screening belts and door frame metal detectors.
4. Departure Hall
Dimensions of the hall allowed spacious departure exits with sufficient sitting area. As an innovative element, we have installed units for charging of mobile phones and notebooks to increase the comfort of passengers.
The architects tried to let as much natural daylight as possible to the Departure Hall. The daylight comes not only from the glass skin of the building but also through the roof-lights. The design elements of the Slovak aviation history, which are present in the ground floor, are also repeated in this zone particularly in canvas overlaps in the restaurant and selected shades of colours. Design elements dominating the shopping and restaurant area are coloured glass-filled arch constructions which remind groin structures of historical airplanes.
Entrance to the business lounge, the Caproni Lounge, is from the passage between the restaurant and coffee shop. Situated a little out-of-the-way, it provides enough privacy and, through the glassy façade, also an extraordinary view of the entire Entrance Hall and a Caproni aircraft model which will be installed above the coffee shop in the future.
Boarding bridges will take the passengers from the departure exits to the ground floor from where they will continue to airplanes by foot or buses.
Letisko M. R. Štefánika - Airport Bratislava, a. s. (BTS) is the largest international airport in Slovak Republic. Its history reaches back to 1946. The airport enjoyed its heaviest expansion in years 2004 - 2006, when the annual passenger surpluses reached the average of 60%. In 2009 the airport handled 1,7million passengers and experienced the historical record in handled cargo amounting to 12 thousand tons.
Today, the airport is connected to 30 scheduled destinations and routes are provided by 5 air carriers - CSA Czech Airlines, Danube Wings, LOT Polish Airlines, Ryanair and Sun D´Or International.
More information at: www.airportbratislava.sk
Contact for Media:
Dana Madunická
Public Relations Manager
Letisko M. R. Štefánika - Airport Bratislava, a.s. (BTS)
Tel.: +421 2 3303 3115
Fax: +421 2 3303 3009
Cell: +421 903 263 611
e-mail: [email protected]
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