The Brno Airport invests in building a multimodal complex

“Development of air cargo facilities is part of the large-scale modernisation of the airport, launched with Accolade’s entry into the Letiště Brno Company. The Brno Airport is a gate to South Moravia and we want this gate to be friendly and attractive to visitors and business,” says Milan Kratina, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Letiště Brno. He adds that Letiště Brno has recently signed a joint venture with the South Moravian Development Company, aimed at supporting the development of passenger air transport.

Panattoni Europe, a company with extensive international experience, which will be a partner for the development of the multimodal centre, is expected to guarantee the centre’s quality and attractiveness. “For me, Brno is a synonym for high-tech, innovation, and top-quality university learning environment. However, the development of its airport has long been affected by a lack of adequate capacity for forwarders, although Brno’s superior location in the middle of Europe offers plenty of synergies. The multimodal centre will develop into an ideal base of European importance,” says Pavel Sovička, Panattoni Europe’s Managing Director for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

“Ostrava is considering a similar facility. Thanks to the Letiste Brno´s investment, the city will gain a considerable advantage,” adds Kratina.

The construction of the multimodal complex will match the airport runway system, enabling to avoid the need to transload cargo from aircraft to trucks to carry it outside the airport. As a result, users of the multimodal centre will save money, and traffic on the roads to/from the airport will ease up. The centre will also make use of a railway siding to the airport premises. The remaining road cargo will go straight from the airport to the D1 motorway along the Evropská Street outside the built-up areas.

“The reason why, according to the local development plan, the transport centre is located at the airport is to prevent cargo transport from leaving the motorway in the direction towards the city and causing inconvenience to people in the nearby residential areas. However, as time passed, only part of the development plan was realised and, consequently, the good initial idea (to send municipal supply traffic southwards and traffic to manufacturing plants northwards) does not work at present: most of the traffic from the motorway is heading north to the inner city. Thus, the construction of the multimodal centre is in fact repaying the historical debt owed to the residents of Slatina and all those who use the Řípská Street,” says Milan Kratina.

According to the Airport’s plans, investments in air cargo facilities will be deployed step by step. The first part of the complex will follow as a continuation of the current earthworks north of the arrival hall and departure lounge and its limited operation is planned to start this autumn.

The already completed investments in passenger comfort and safety and the committed investment plans to modernise the airport have amounted to 40 million crowns since last November. A new aircraft tug, a new special airport fire engine, and covered passenger stairs (the first passenger stairs with a roof at the Brno airport) have been bought, and garages have been built for this machinery. New water and gas backbone distribution systems are being installed at present. 

The airport is expanding its passport control capacity for non-Schengen passengers and installing new X-ray machines and prohibited-substance detectors. Inside the airport lobby, innovative ventilation and air conditioning systems have been installed in the passenger area as well as in the technical and service support areas. Funds are also provided for expanding the car parking area in front of the terminal and there is a plan to bring more activity to the departure lounge and arrival hall, including modern shops and refreshment facilities for passengers. 

At the same time, a road bridge is being repaired on the access road to the airport terminal. The necessary repair work, undertaken by the Regional Authority, causes intermittent traffic slowdowns – passengers should remember that it is always recommended to arrive two hours before departure.