Bratislava airport in winter. (source: Bratislava airport)
One outcome of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s (Smer) November working trip to China is the Slovak government’s promise to establish a direct air link between Bratislava and Beijing.
For now, there has been little progress. Both Bratislava airport and the Transport Ministry have made only brief statements regarding the fulfilment of this pledge.
“We have already communicated with several carriers on this topic. The public will be informed,” said ministry spokesperson Petra Poláčiková.
It remains unclear whether the potential new route would be regular, how frequently flights would operate, or which airline might run the service. Experts in aviation and Sino-Slovak relations suggest that such a route would struggle to succeed in the highly competitive market without state subsidies.
