496 708 passengers passed the gates of Košice International Airport in 2017 what represents a 13,7 % increase compared to previous year. 373 406 passengers used scheduled routes and 121 230 passengers flew to/from Košice on charter flights. 

The biggest share of total increase belongs to charter traffic which grew by 35 410 passengers (+41,3 %). The airport recorded also increase of scheduled traffic by 24 427 passengers (+7,0%) as compared to 2016. The strongest day of the year was 23rd August with 3 621 passengers. In total Košice International Airport recorded 10 662 aircraft movements (+13,8%), 170 032 tons of MTOW (+11,3 %) and 106 tons of cargo (+20,5 %) in 2017.

Chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Košice International Airport Michael Tmej said: „Thanks to the best charter season so far, new routes to Tel Aviv and Cologne and well running all other scheduled routes operated by our partner airlines, we are proud to announce that 2017 was the 2nd best year in history of Košice International Airport. I would like to say a big thank you to all our dedicated employees, partners and especially to passengers who decided to fly from/to Košice in 2017. We will do our best to keep and increase quality of services at our airport also in 2018.” 

In 2017 two new year-round destinations were opened from Košice: Cologne in Germany and Tel Aviv in Israel, both operated by Wizz Air. Therefore, as of end of the year, 9 destinations in 7 countries are available from Košice on a year-round scheduled flights and more than 500 destinations worldwide can be reached from Košice with just one stop on board of Austrian Airlines, Czech Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and Turkish Airlines. Therefore, in terms of connectivity, 2017 was the best year in the history of Košice International Airport. In terms of passengers handled, it was the second best year.

Holiday packages of tour operators for summer 2018 are already on sale. Individual tickets will be available on board of Czech carrier SmartWings that will operate seasonal scheduled flights from Košice to Bourgas, Rhodes, Heraklion, Mallorca, Lamezia Terme and also to Larnaca in Cyprus, which will be a new destination available with departure from Košice. 

The second year or Wizz Air Košice Runway Run was organized by Radio Košice at Košice airport in April. More than 1500 runners enjoyed the special feeling of running on an actual runway. The third year of this extraordinary event is planned for April 2018.

Slovak Training Academy was officially opened at Košice International Airport in October. Students will be able to train their skills on various types of helicopters, including Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk.

In November, Košice International Airport together with Creative Pro agency received two awards at Best Event Awards Festival in Porto for the live marketing campaign From Košice Around The World in 80 Hours. Also in November, in cooperation with Ness Košice Development Center, new airport website was developed and launched.

Website www.zkosicdosveta.sk and its Facebook page promote wide offer of destinations available from Košice. In addition, at the end of 2017 new feature of this website was introduced: a blogging platform available at http://cestovatel.zkosicdosveta.sk/ where travellers can write stories about their trips starting at Košice International Airport. The most successful blogger will win 3,000 € budget for flight tickets.

Press release, Košice, 9th January 2018