AIR-TRANSPORT EUROPE

Air Transport Europe, called ATE, is a Slovak aviation company based at Poprad airport. It was one of the first private airlines in Slovakia. It was set up in 1991 to fly helicopter emergency medical service in the Poprad region.

Services

The main business is helicopter emergency medical service, open every day of the year. The licence for it comes from the Slovak Ministry of Health. ATE also flies medical air transport on two Cessna Citation 550 Bravo jets. Other divisions cover business jet charter, helicopter maintenance, spare parts trading and a flight school. Since 2003 it has also run a voluntary donor card programme.

Aircraft and bases

The helicopters are twin engine Agusta A109K2 and Bell 429 aircraft. The Bell 429 has been added since 2013. Helicopter bases are Poprad, Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, Kosice, Nitra, Zilina and Trencin in Slovakia. Olomouc and Ostrava are in the Czech Republic. The Bratislava base also handles repatriation flights.

Who it is for

ATE serves emergency patients in Slovakia and parts of the Czech Republic. Its medical jets carry patients on longer transfers.

ATE says its crews flew 4,324 rescue takeoffs in 2025, which was 6 percent fewer than the year before. It blames mainly the weather. In June 2025 the company said it planned to bid for a role in ground emergency medical services in Slovakia.

Facts

• On the Slovak market since 1991
• First base at Poprad opened on 1 April 1995
• Czech base at Olomouc started on 1 January 2017
• Maintenance centre approved under EASA Part 145 for Agusta and Bell helicopters, among others
• Legal form: spol. s r.o.