On Saturday, October 26th, the
final Czech Airlines (ČSA) flight from Paris will land in
Prague, marking the end of a century of aviation history,
according to Radio Prague. Flights with the code OK will
disappear from the skies as Czech Airlines ceases operations as
an independent carrier. Czech Airlines, which was one of the
world's five oldest airlines, was founded in 1923 and it will
become just another brand in the Smartwings group's portfolio.
According to Radio Prague, the airline's problems began in the
1990s, with the first unsuccessful privatisation attempts. The
issues were exacerbated by managerial mistakes, the 2008
economic downturn, the rise of low-cost airlines, and the
Covid-19 pandemic. The fleet of aircraft and number of routes
began to decline, and Czech Airlines was acquired by Smartwings
in 2018, which purchased nearly 98% of the company's stock. ČSA
was the world's fifth oldest airline, following Dutch KLM,
Colombian Avianca, Australian Qantas, and Soviet/Russian
Aeroflot.
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