The first tender process for an airline operator to run flights between Brno and Munich closed last June with no bids. On Monday a second process, with significantly greater subsidies promised from the region, ended in the same way. Photo credit: ZM / Brno Daily.
Brno, Feb 10 (BD) – The subsidies offered by the regional government were initially under CZK 22 million a year, but the figure was raised to around CZK 55 million for the second tendering process.
However, despite some interest from companies, no formal bids were submitted, according to South Moravian Governor Bohumil Šimek: “Although no bids arrived, we were contacted during the process by three companies interested in cooperating with the Region on the operation of the air route to Munich, but none of them favoured our proposed form of a public service obligation. This is linked, among other things, to a very specific schedule, and entails a heavy administrative burden. That is why nobody applied.”
The public service obligation attached to this tender required operators to run 11 flights per week, and fly aircraft with at least 50 seats for four years. Šimek added that negotiations with the airlines are set to continue: “The carriers want to present their offers to us in the coming weeks, and we will therefore negotiate with them to see if their proposals are acceptable for the region.”
The Brno-Munich connection has been intermittent, running from 2005 to 2007, then again from 2015 to February last year, when operator British Midland International (BMI) went bankrupt. Regular scheduled flights from Brno airport currently connect to London Stansted, Milan Bergamo, and Berlin, although the Berlin connection will end on March 28th.
