Execair, the executive aircraft handling business of Menzies Aviation Group (MAG), has opened its tenth European station at Prague’s Ruzyne Airport. This latest expansion comes just two weeks after MAG announced the acquisition of Parc Aviation Handling in Dublin.

Sonny Sonnberger, managing director of Menzies Aviation Group in the Czech Republic, who will manage the new Prague handling operation, said: “Execair is a valuable addition to our existing ground handling activity here in Prague. We now have the capability to handle all types of aircraft in dedicated commercial or private executive facilities.”

Alex MacDonald, Execair’s operations director, added: “Opening in Prague is another important step in our ambition to build an extensive European network. I am delighted with this new facility. The standard of accommodation is excellent and will certainly add further to Execair’s high quality reputation.”

Execair now operates in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Brussels, Cardiff, Charleroi, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Inverness and Prague.

Meanwhile, Menzies Aviation Group is to apply a war risk insurance surcharge to its handling services worldwide with effect from February 1, 2002. This being a direct result, it says, of substantial increases in its aviation insurance premiums following September 11.

MAG has notified airline customers that a two per cent surcharge will be applied to all invoiced charges, except in the UK where a charge of £7.50 per export or transhipment tonne will be levied. The surcharge will be shown as a separate item on MAG invoices.

“In common with the world’s airlines, ground handlers have experienced unprecedented war risk and terrorist insurance premiums. Just like our airline customers, we must recover these costs,” said MAG chief executive Peter Smith.

“We believe that recovering these exceptional costs through a surcharge is equitable and transparent to our customers and, in the event that the insurance market reverts back to premium levels applied pre-September 11, we will act promptly to remove the charge,” he added.

In further news, Execair has launched a new website that allows operators to book their specific handling requests on-line prior to taking off for their destination.

Said a spokesman: “The easy-to-use website – www.execair.co.uk – lists services that can be pre-booked at any of Execair’s 10 stations in Europe, located in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

“Customers can use the site to request Execair s help in arranging landing permission, parking allocation, assistance with customs and immigration, refuelling, flight planning, weather briefings and courtesy crew and passenger transport to aircraft side. They can also make car rental, taxi or limousine bookings on-line, organise vip catering and they can take care of hotel reservations.”

The website also enables customers to pre-alert Execair to their requirements concerning use of executive passenger lounges, quick aircraft turnarounds, aircraft chartering and freight handling.

Alex MacDonald, operations director at Execair, added: “With our growing network and ability to cater for every type of executive aircraft from a Cessna 172 to a Boeing 747, we are always looking to improve the way we serve both our existing and new customers. In terms of executive jet handling, customers need us to be highly responsive and flexible and, above all, easy to do business with.”