Czech Airlines service to Beirut celebrates 60 years
05-Sep-2008 |
Czech Airlines is celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the launch of scheduled air service between Prague and Beirut.
The former Czechoslovak Airlines flew to the destination for the first time on 02-Sept-48. Presently, the Airline offers six flights a week between Prague and Beirut, deploying its most modern Airbus A319s and also Airbus A320s, with larger capacity, on the most sought-after days.
The former Czechoslovak Airlines launched the Beirut service in the post-war era. Shortly thereafter, however, the service was interrupted. In more recent history, this route was also limited for political reasons - this time due to the war in Lebanon in 2006.
Last year, the Czech Airlines service between Prague and Beirut was used by over 39,000 passengers, which constituted a year-on-year increase of nearly 50 percent. The sharp growth was due to the improved offering of connections to Lebanon, primarily by increasing connections to a number of countries in Western Europe. Czech Airlines also managed to significantly better use the capacity in the low season. In 2007, Czech Airlines operated 200 flights between Prague and Beirut.
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 05-Sep-08 In-depth analysis of the Middle East airline and airport sectors, including latest traffic and financial reports and outlooks, is available each month in the Monthly Essential Middle East.
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