Pardubice Airport (in Czech: Leti?t? Pardubice) is a military airport permitted to handle international civil air traffic. It is located next to city of Pardubice, Czech Republic.

History

In 1910 Jan Ka?par, an engineer and aviation enthusiast, and his cousin Eugen ?ihák bought an airplane Bleriot XI and started with flight experiments on the local military exercise ground in Pardubice. On April 16 1910 Ka?par flew for the first time and as the first person in Czech lands, about 2 km. In later years he arranged flight exhibitions over the country, most famous being his flight from Pardubice to Prague (120 km) on May 13, 1911.

The first flying club in Czech lands was founded in Pardubice on April 26, 1911. The club, named Aviation society in Pardubice (Aviatické dru?stvo Pardubice) had five hangars but the war had stopped its activities. After the war the place held occasional flight exhibitions. Since the end of 1929 the airport was used as a training place for aviation enthusiast; expanded to 25 hectares it was one of the largest in the country. Since 1933 the airport was also used for glider training. During 1936 - 1937 new modern airport facilities were built.

During World War II the airport served for training of Luftwaffe pilots, toward the end of the war for combat operations and was destroyed by bombing.

Since 1950 the airport the airport was used only for the military. 2,500 m long concrete runway was built and pilot training centre established. The airport hosted 4th and 18th Fighter Air Wings (4. stíhaci a 18. stíhací letecký pluk) equipped with S-199, MiG-15, C-2, C-5, C-11, MiG-19S, MiG-19PM, MiG-21F and Mi-1 helicopters, 47th Reconnaissance Wing (47. pr?zkumný letecký pluk) with MiG-21R, Il-28L, Il-14 and later with Su-22 and since 1986 30th Strafer Wing (30. bitevní letecký pluk) with Su-25K. Large support military units were located next to the airport and in the city.

During the 1990s the military role of the airport was gradually reduced. Since 1994 the airport was used as a training base (34. základna ?kolního letectva) but in 2003 the army reduced role of the airport to provide maintenance and logistics.

Current civil operation

In 1993 a company East Bohemian Airport a.s. aiming to open the airport for civil use was formed. Officially, the airport was opened for civil operation on May 18, 1995. Since November 1, 1996 the airport is authorized for operation under the IFR rules.

The airport is used for charter flights to the Southern Europe during summer season, to transport Russian tourists into the Czech Republic and for cargo flights (including flights by An-124).

In 2006 the airport handled over 71,000 of passengers (about 85% from Russia ^[1]) and 1302 movements. ^[2]

Airlines and destinations

• Rossiya (St. Petersburg)
• Transaero (Moscow-Domodedovo)

Notes

Literature

• Journal ZPRÁVY Klubu p?átel Pardubicka (Club of Pardubice Patriots News) ^{http://www.kpp.iipardubice.cz/}. Articles written by Pavel Sviták and several other authors since 1980s cover history of aviation in Pardubice.
• Pavel Sviták: První ?eský letec in?enýr Jan Ka?par a za?átky ?eského letectví : p?íb?h na?eho prvního letce, jeho p?edch?dc?, spolupracovník? a sou?asník? s p?ihlédnutím k vývoji letectví ve sv?t? (The first Czech pilot Jan Ka?par and the beginning of Czech aviation), 2003, East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice, ISBN 80-86046-65-6.

External links

• Airport website (en, cz, ru)
• History of aviation in Pardubice (in Czech, SWF format, short overview by Pavel Sviták)

cs:Leti?t? Pardubice