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Air traffic over Czech territory still hasn’t reached pre-Covid levels, according to newly published figures by the Czech Air Traffic Control services provider. The number of take-offs, landings, and flyover flights currently reaches 93 percent of the figure recorded in 2019, while the European average is 99 percent.

According to a spokesperson for Czech Air Traffic Control, the intensity of Czech air traffic is not expected to increase significantly in the near future due to the lack of aircraft. He also says Czechia is lagging behind due to changes in aircraft routes in connection with the war in Ukraine.

Year-on-year inflation in Czechia slowed to two percent in June, down from 2.6 percent in May, according to figures released by the Czech Statistics Office on Wednesday. Month-on-month, prices fell by 0.3 percent. June's development was mainly influenced by lower growth in fuel prices and cheaper holidays and food.

Czechia improved significantly in the European inflation rankings in June. It had the 11th lowest inflation of the 41 countries surveyed, while in May it had the 23rd highest inflation, according to an analysis by investment platform Portu.

The chair of the Czech Caucus in the US Congress, Lloyd Doggett, praised Czech aid to Ukraine during a bicameral, bipartisan meeting with Czech President Petr Pavel in Washington on Tuesday. Around 10 legislators took part in the meeting, which was held during a NATO summit.

Mr. Doggett said Czechia was one of the first countries to help Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. He praised the way in which the country took care of Ukrainian refugees, as well as the Czech initiative to secure artillery ammunition from outside the European Union.

For his part President Pavel recalled that his first trip to the West after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 was a visit to Washington. He also discussed the security situation in the world, which he said had become more unpredictable following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, on Tuesday summoned the Russian ambassador to Prague, Aleksandr Zmeyevsky, over Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities. Over 40 people including four children were killed in Monday’s attacks, while nearly 200 people were injured.

Mr. Lipavský said he had told the Russian diplomat that murderers who attacked children in hospital were the dregs of humanity and that he should relay that message in Moscow.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country had attempted to have a representative speak about the matter at the UN Security Council on Tuesday but that this had been blocked by Russia, which is chairing that body this month.