Prague Airport receives prestigious international award

Prague’s Ruzyně airport has received the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) prestigious Eagle Award in recognition of the airport’s outstanding achievements in areas such as customer satisfaction and transparency. This is the first time that an airport from the former Eastern bloc has received this prize. Michaela Lagronová, the spokeswoman for Prague Airport, speaks about the prize and what it means for Prague airport.

Ruzyne Airport

“As far as I know, and this is what we received, as Prague Airport, today, the Eagle Award for the most deserving airport. And it is the only airport which has received this award this year.”

And which categories were taken into consideration and where did Ruzyně do especially well?

“Well, I guess there were a few categories. One of them was of course our transparent and constructive approach toward the airlines which operate out of our airport, and also our incentives scheme for the airlines. Then, other factors were the customer satisfaction with our services and of course, the substantial development of the airport.”

And what significance, what impact will this have on your airport?

Václav Havel international airport, photo: archive of Radio Prague

“I believe that since we’re a smaller category airport, we are not among the biggest airports in the world, this was very motivating, for the future and for us, our development. It is great to know that our approach towards the airlines is considered well by IATA, because there were some rumors in the previous year that our approach would not be as transparent in the future. But of course, it is. And that is very good for us. And of course the customer satisfaction with our services is also very important, and it is always great to receive some recognition and know that you are doing your job well.”

In terms of the region, how does Ruzyně airport compare to other airports within Central and Eastern Europe?

“As far as I know, we are the only airport from the region which has ever received this award, which makes it an even greater honor for us.”

And lastly, how many airlines operate out of Ruzyně and how many passengers do you get yearly?

“So during the summer season, there are 48 airlines connecting Prague with 128 destinations around the globe. And we usually handle around 12 million passengers. Last year, it was 11.5, but this year we expect a four percent increase, which means around twelve million in the year 2011.”