The Czech government is negotiating the sale of an ex-military airfield 40km (25 miles) east of Prague to Tara Aerospace, headed by Ryanair director Tony Ryan.
Under the plans, the derelict Bozí Dar Airport, near the town of Nymburk, once a Soviet army base, is to be sold to Tara for CKr12.5 million ($426,000). Tara declines to comment on the negotiations.
Igor Fojtík, head of the privatisation department at the Czech finance ministry, says Tara wants to build a freight terminal at the site that would open in 2005, and is hoping to draw major European and US carriers away from cargo airports in Cologne and Düsseldorf by offering cheaper services.
The Irish company, which owns five Boeing MD-82s operated by Alitalia, also wants to establish an airframe and engine maintenance centre and a pilot training school at Bozí Dar, according to Fojtík, who says that Tara could eventually invest up to CKr1.5 billion in the airport and surrounding area.
There are no indications that Tara plans to use the airport for passenger flights, and it may depend on how profitable the initial freight operation is. The Czech government had been trying to sell Bozí Dar for three years.
Source: Flight International
