Airport Bratislava: New Arrivals Hall welcomed its first passengers today

Shortly after one o'clock today, Airport Bratislava ceremonially launched into operation the full concept with the removal of the single visual barrier between the Departures Terminal and the newly opened Arrivals section of the terminal. The grand launch of this additional section of the new terminal, which provides an elegant and functional space for all visitors to the Airport, has taken place in the presence of František Palko, the state secretary for the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic and Maroš Jančula, the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Airport Bratislava.

"Today we are standing in the place of the original Departures Terminal, which was here since the Seventies. Last year, the old building gave way to this new construction, which symbolizes the future of aviation not only in Slovakia, but also in the wider region at the intersection of four countries - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. With the completion of this second phase of the Terminal and its launch into operation today, we have succeeded in putting the whole concept into operation. It complies with needs of even the most demanding of passengers and offers a respectable gateway to the Slovak Republic. The new Terminal illustrates well the level of development of air transportation in this country and I firmly believe that it will be here to serve the travelling public well for decades to come", the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Airport Bratislava Maroš Jančula stated at the ceremonious opening of the second part of the new terminal.

The construction of the new terminal was divided into two phases, in line with the airport development plan, adopted by the Slovak government in order to allow for non-stop operations at the airport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The government's decision came at a time when the airport was handling 2.2 million passengers a year and not even the biggest of sceptics could have predicted the onset of the global economic crisis and the exit of three domestic carriers from the market. After 16 months of intense construction works between 2009 and 2010, the first part of the new terminal building was ceremonially launched into operations on June 9, 2010. Over the next few months, the original Departures Terminal from 1970 was demolished and the new section - the Arrivals part of the building, which is being launched into operation by the Airport today - was completed. The general supplier of the construction of the new Terminal building as a whole was ZIPP Bratislava, who won the public tender for this project in 2008.

The costs incurred in the construction of this second part of the new Terminal building totalled 46,6 mn EUR, which in no way burdened the state budget. The financing comes from the Airport's own resources, namely from aviation and non-aviation revenues and external financing. The conditions for the external financing totalling 42 mn EUR were presented to the shareholders of the Airport - the National Property Fund and the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development - to obtain their approval in accordance with the Airport's statutes. The returns on the investment are not expected over the short term, but rather over the long-term horizon and that is also why the target capacity of the terminal, numbering 5 million passengers, is in line with the expected development for the next 10 - 20 years.

The second part of the new terminal, which has been opened for the public today, creates a single architectural unit with the already functioning Departures Terminal. In terms of operations, it will serve mainly as the Arrivals Terminal with the ground floor accommodating arriving passengers from the Schengen and non-Schengen areas. The public zone and the transit hall on the second floor are interconnected with the Departures Terminal, thus creating a single space which is needed for the handling of departing passengers. The new terminal offers travellers and visitors to the airport easily navigable, comfortable and elegant surroundings. The quality of air-conditioning is a marked improvement from the original condition of the terminal building, as is the much improved permeability of daylight. The new Terminal building offers passengers access to unlimited wi-fi free of charge, the possibility to charge mobiles and notebooks once past security control, the option of entertaining their kids in kids' corners, as well as the attractive offers at duty-free shopping space. There are also refreshments, assistance services for immobile passengers free of charge using the new info panels etc.

Important milestones in the construction of the new Airport Bratislava Terminal:

16. 01. 2008 The adoption of the concept for further development of Airport Bratislava by the government of the Slovak Republic

09. 07. 2008 The publishing of the preliminary statement for the reconstruction and completion of the Terminal in the Journal of Public Procurement in the Slovak Republic

29. 09. 2008 The announcement of the public tender in the Journal of Public Procurement

04. 12. 2008 The signing of framework agreement with the winner of the Public Procurement - ZIPP BRATISLAVA

12. 12. 2008 Permit for the construction project obtained

16. 12. 2008 Tapping of the foundation stone of the construction and the launch of construction works

31. 01. 2009 Construction site handed over and foundation works at the construction site started

01. 10. 2009 Project for interior solution received

09. 06. 2010 Ceremonial launch of the first part of the new Terminal building

28. 06. 2010 The handling of all departures moved to the new Terminal

30. 06. 2012 The launch of the second part of the construction by the general supplier to the airport

13. 07. 2012 Ceremonial opening of the second part of the new Terminal building

Basic technical information:

The reconstruction and completion of the terminal at M. R. Štefánik Airport - Airport Bratislava - construction of the Terminal
	Total	Phases
		1st phase 02/2009 - 06/2010	2nd phase 12/2010 - 06/2012
Built-up area [m²]	13 420	7 264	5 699
Usable area [m²]	41 106	22 879	17 835
Enclosed volume [m³]	292 157	163 248	128 227
Roof area [m²]	14 320	7 960	6 360
Excavations [m³]	72 332	39 783	32 549
Base slab - concrete [m³]	9 737	5 572	3 250
Base slab - steel [t]	1 026	576	450
Reinforced concrete PREFA skeleton [m³]	1 843	1 014	1 772
Reinforced concrete - monolithic - concrete [m³]	8 802	5 279	3 523
Reinforced concrete - monolithic - steel [t]	1 103	689	618
Steel structure [t]	2 283	1 362	957
Glassed facade[m²]	9 968	5 482	4 751
Number of lifts [pcs]	18	12	6
Number of escalators [pcs]	13	9	3

Description of individual new floors of the building:

The underground area offers room for the provision of basic facilities. The travelling public will be able to use public toilets and showers, which are one of the useful new functional additions at the completed terminal building. In the future, the Airport plans to dedicate this zone to the use of a popular retail chain.

The ground floor provides an ample space for people who came to wait and greet their family and friends immediately after their arrival at Airport Bratislava. The advantage of the new terminal building, in comparison with the original space, is undeniably the fact that all arriving passengers will now enter the public Arrivals zone through a single exit. In the non-public areas of the ground floor, there are 4 baggage carousels, with each one able to serve 3 arriving flights at once. This is where all the arriving passengers from both the Schengen and non-Schengen areas will congregate as they enter the hall from the original Terminal B after clearing passport control.

The second overground floor is intended for the needs of the Airport operations and other tenants, either air carrier companies or retail space operators.

The third overground floor is dedicated to the pre-flight area, which extended the existing waiting zone of the Departures terminal, thus increasing the number of departure gates (4 gates). Security control has also been moved to this new space. At the same time, the waiting area at Departures also offers new retail space for fast-food refreshment of the renowned chain Coffeeshop Company, who contributed to creating an elegant non-smoking and dedicated smoking area café. A new retail space dedicated to Slovak wines, branded cosmetics and souvenirs is expected to contribute to the experience in the near future.

The fourth and fifth overground floors are technological floors.