Liberec did not sell its airport

Liberec - Liberec has not sold its airport. The only interested party, which offered about 105 million crowns for the seventy-hectare area, withdrew from the purchase. The reason given was the negative campaign that had erupted against him and his family. The mayor, Jiří Kittner, informed the councilors about this at the last meeting before the municipal elections, prompting him to withdraw this item from the agenda. He also pointed out that the city would be missing 100 million in the budget. However, the new council will have to deal with this, the mayor said.
    The only interested party in the land was the founder of Integra, Petr Turek. According to his statement, the main reason for withdrawing the offer was the negative response from part of the public, and especially the negative comments from some media, which presented the potential purchase as a possible detriment to the city of Liberec and the Liberec region. "At the same time, the offer became the subject of a political campaign by some political entities and unfounded speculation. I consider this situation unfortunate and so intrusive into my personal life that I am forced to completely withdraw my offer," Turek stated in his expression.
    The airport has been serving Liberec since 1934. It currently operates as an international, but non-public airport. Aircraft from abroad must announce their arrival 24 hours in advance. Due to noise and the lack of lighting, planes can land in Liberec only during the day, and the area does not have a permanent runway, so only small aircraft up to 5.7 tons for 12 to 14 passengers can land there. Building a permanent runway is estimated to cost between 200 to 300 million crowns. However, according to Kittner, the city cannot afford such an investment.
    According to the mayor, the city also does not need the airport. "We are close to Prague and Dresden, and companies mostly use regular air routes," Kittner already said earlier to ČTK. The sale of the area was discussed five years ago when the company Exonex Airport CZ wanted to build an international airport in Liberec. The company promised to invest half a billion crowns in the development of the area, but the project failed.