16.03.2006
New low-cost service to Prague

The phasing out of the Danish passenger tax increases interest in establishing new services to Copenhagen Airport.

Copenhagen Airport can now welcome yet another low-cost airline when Czech-based Smart Wings opens a new route between Copenhagen and Prague on 5 June 2006 with two weekly flights – on Mondays and Saturdays.

The low-cost airline Smart Wings was founded two years ago by the charter airline Travel Service, the largest privately-owned airline in the Czech Republic with flights to more than 100 airports worldwide. Smart Wings offers low-cost services out of Prague to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona and a number of other European destinations.

Smart Wings brings the number of low-cost airlines operating out of Copenhagen Airport to ten. Earlier in the year, German-based low-cost airline Air Berlin announced that it is going to offer three new routes out of Copenhagen.

Lower prices and lower passenger tax

Since the turn of the year, it has become less costly for airlines to fly out of Copenhagen as the airport has reduced its charges and the Danish government’s passenger tax was cut in half, and is to be phased out completely from 2007. For a low-cost airline, the abolition of the passenger tax reduces costs by an average of DKK 10,000 per flight out of Copenhagen.

“The politicians’ decision to phase out the passenger tax has a great effect on airline interest in establishing new routes out of Copenhagen. Combined with our own reduction of charges, this puts us in a favourable position in the competition with other airlines in Europe. We are seeing growing interest from the airlines,” said Niels Boserup, President & CEO of Copenhagen Airports A/S.