Czech city of Brno finds no carrier for Frankfurt flights

Brno and the South Moravian Region failed to reach an agreement with airlines on regular flights to Frankfurt: the tender announced for the route attracted not a single bid from carriers. The local governments had planned to launch the flights as early as next spring and were ready to back them with budget funds.

Brno and the region intended to allocate up to €1.5 million a year each for the route — around 36.7 million crowns in total. According to South Moravian governor Jan Grolich (KDU-ČSL), a connection to Frankfurt would have opened up opportunities for the region in business, tourism and culture. The flights were to operate four times a week, with a contract to be signed with the carrier for three years.

Brno has spent years trying to establish a permanent air link with a major European hub. From November 2015 to February 2019, flights connected the city to Munich, but the route closed after British carrier BMI Regional cancelled its flights overnight. Later, the city and the region tried to negotiate flights to Amsterdam, but could not agree with carriers on convenient arrival and departure times. Since then, Brno has had no permanent, year-round route to a major aviation hub.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz