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Václav Havel Airport Prague (Czech: Letiště Václava Havla Praha), formerly Prague Ruzyně International Airport (Czech: Mezinárodní letiště Praha-Ruzyně, Czech pronunciation: [ˈpraɦa ˈruzɪɲɛ]) (IATA: PRG, ICAO: LKPR), is the international airport of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The airport was founded in 1937, when it replaced the Kbely Airport (founded in 1918). It was reconstructed and extended in 1956, 1968, 1997, and 2006. In 2012, it was renamed after the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. It is located at the edge of the Prague-Ruzyně area, next to Kněževes village, 12 km (7 mi) west of the centre of Prague[3] and 12 km (7 mi) southeast of the city of Kladno.

Václav Havel Airport Prague Letiště Václava Havla Praha
IATA: PRG ICAO: LKPR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Ministry of Finance
Operator	Letiště Praha, Ltd.
Serves	Prague
Location	Ruzyně
Opened	5 April 1937; 85 years ago (1937-04-05)
Hub for	Czech Airlines Smartwings
Focus city for	Eurowings Ryanair
Time zone	CET (UTC+01:00)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02:00)
Elevation AMSL	1,234 ft / 376 m
Coordinates	50.1018°N 14.2632°E / 50.1018; 14.2632
Website	prg.aero
Map
PRG Show map of Prague PRG Show map of Czech Republic
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 06/24 3,715 12,188 Concrete 12/30 3,250 10,663 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface m ft FATO 1 29 95 Asphalt/Grass FATO 2 38 125 Asphalt/Grass
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 17,804,900[1][2] Passenger change 18-19 6% Cargo 81,768 t Aircraft movements 154,777
Source: Czech AIP at the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (ANS CR)[3]

In 2018 it served around 17 million passengers.[4] It serves as a hub for Czech Airlines and Smartwings, and as a base for Ryanair and Eurowings.

History

Prague–Ruzyně Airport began operations on 5 April 1937,[5] but Czechoslovak civil aviation history started at the military airport in Prague–Kbely in 1919. The Prague Aviation Museum is now found at Kbely Airport.

Due to insufficient capacity of Kbely Airport by the mid-1930s, the government decided to develop a new state civil airport in Ruzyně. ^{[citation needed]} One of the major awards Prague Ruzyně Airport received include Diploma and Gold Medal granted in 1937 at the occasion of the International Art and Technical Exhibition in Paris ^{[citation needed]} (Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne also known as Paris 1937 World's Fair) for the technical conception of the central airport, primarily the architecture of the check-in building (nowadays known as Terminal 4) designed by architect Adolf Benš.[6]

In one of the most dramatic moments in its history, the airport was seized by Soviet paratroopers on the night of 20–21 August 1968, who then facilitated the landing of Soviet troops and transports for the invasion of Czechoslovakia.^{[citation needed]}

Moreover, the Ruzyně fields provide opportunities for further expansion of the airport according to the increasing capacity demand. The airport serves as a hub of the trans-European airport network.

Political and economic changes have significantly influenced Prague–Ruzyně Airport's seventy year history. Some new air transportation companies and institutions were founded and some ceased operation since then. Ten entities have been responsible for airport administration over time, including the new construction and development. Until the 1990s, there were two or three-decade gaps before the major modernisation of Prague–Ruzyně Airport began to match the current capacity requirements. ^{[citation needed]}

The airport stood in for Miami International Airport in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.[7]

An online petition organised by one of the best-known Slovak film directors, Fero Fenič, calling on the government and the Parliament to rename Prague Ruzyně Airport to Václav Havel International Airport attracted – in just one week after 20 December 2011—the support of over 65,000 signatories both within and outside the Czech Republic.[8] A rendition of the airport with the proposed Václav Havel name in the form of his signature followed by his typical heart symbol suffix was included in the blog's article in support of renaming of the airport.[9] This name change took place on 5 October 2012 on what would have been Havel's 76th birthday. However, the PRG name of the airport for IATA and ICAO will remain the same.

Further development

This article needs to be updated. (July 2021)

As the capacity of the airport has been reaching its limit for the last couple of years (as of 2005),^{[citation needed]} further development of the airport is being considered. Besides regular repairs of the existing runways, Prague Airport (Czech: Letiště Praha s.p.) began the preparations for building a new runway, parallel to the 06/24 runway. The construction with estimated costs of CZK 5–7 billion was scheduled to begin in 2007, and the new runway marked 06R/24L (also called the BIS runway) was to be put into service in 2010. However, because of many legal problems and the protests of people who live close to the airport premises, the construction has not yet begun. Despite these problems, the project has support from the government, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.[10]

It will be over 3,500 m (11,483 ft) long. Located about 1,500 m (4,921 ft) southeast of the present main runway, the 24L runway will be equipped with a category III ILS, allowing landing and taking off under bad weather conditions.

Prague Airport states that besides increasing the airport capacity, the new runway system will greatly reduce the noise level in some densely inhabited areas of Prague. This should be achieved by reorganising the air traffic space around the airport, and shifting the traffic corridors after putting the two parallel runways into service. The vision of heavy traffic raised many protests from the suburban communities directly surrounding the airport. On 6 November 2004, local referendums were held in two Prague suburbs – Nebušice and Přední Kopanina – giving official support to the local authorities for active opposition against the construction of the parallel runway.

The construction of a railway connection between the airport and Prague city centre is also in the planning stage. The track will be served by express trains with special fares, connecting non-stop the airport with the city centre, and local trains fully integrated into Prague integrated transit system.[11]

General runway reconstruction

The main runway 06/24 was reconstructed from 2012 - 2013 due to poor technical conditions. During reconstruction, runway 12/30 was the only usable runway as runway 04/22 is closed permanently.[12] The runway reconstruction was originally planned for three stages. The first stage in 2012, the second stage in 2013 and the last stage in 2014. However, runway 12/30 (which would be used during the reconstruction of the main runway) is not equipped for low visibility landings as it offers only ILS CAT I landings. In addition, the approach path of runway 12/30 goes above high-density population areas (such as Prague 6 and Kladno). Therefore, the second and the third stage of the runway reconstruction had to be merged so the works could be finished in 2013.[13][14]

Infrastructure

Terminals

Prague Airport has two main passenger terminals, two general aviation terminals, as well as a cargo facility. Most flights depart Prague Airport from the North Terminals (Terminal 1 and 2). The South Terminals (Terminal 3 and 4) handle a few irregular flights, as well as VIP flights, special flights and small aircraft.

• Terminal 1 is used for flights outside the Schengen Area; it was opened in 1968 and rebuilt in 1997, it includes concourses A and B
• Terminal 2 is used for flights within the Schengen area; it was opened on 17 January 2006, it includes concourses C and D
• Terminal 3 is used for private and charter flights; it was opened in 1997
• Terminal 4 is used exclusively for VIP flights and state visits; it is the oldest part of the airport which was opened on 5 April 1937.[15]

There are also two freight terminals, Cargo Terminal 1 is operated by Menzies Aviation Czech while Cargo Terminal 2 is operated by Skyport.

Runways

The airport contains two runways in service: 06/24 (till April 1993 07/25) and 12/30 (till May 2012 13/31). Former runway 04/22 is permanently closed for take-offs and landings and is used for taxiing and parking only.[3][12] The most used runway is 24 due to the prevailing western winds. Runway 30 is also used often. Runway 06 is used rarely, while runway 12 is used only exceptionally.

Operations

The company operating the airport is Prague Airport (Letiště Praha, a. s.), a joint-stock company that has one shareholder, the Ministry of Finance. The company was founded in February 2008, as part of a privatisation process involving the Airport Prague (Správa Letiště Praha, s.p.) state enterprise. This action was in accordance with the Czech Republic Government Memorandum Nr. 888, which had been passed on 9 July 2008. On 1 December 2008, Prague Airport took all rights and duties formerly held by Správa Letiště Praha, s.p., and Prague Airports took all business authorisations, certificates, employees, and licenses from the former company.[16] The head office of Prague Airport is in Prague 6.[17] The former state-owned enterprise had its head office on the airport property.[18][19]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Prague Airport:[20]

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens
Aer Lingus	Dublin
airBaltic	Riga
Air Cairo	Hurghada
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Moldova	Chișinău[21]
Air Montenegro	Seasonal: Tivat[22]
Air Serbia	Belgrade
Arkia	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[23]
Austrian Airlines	Vienna
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku
Bluebird Airways	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[24]
British Airways	London–Heathrow Seasonal: London–City
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Bulgaria Air	Sofia
Corendon Airlines	Seasonal charter: Antalya
Croatia Airlines	Seasonal: Split[25]
Czech Airlines[26][27]	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Delta Air Lines	Seasonal: New York–JFK[28]
easyJet	Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Bristol, Geneva, London–Gatwick, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa Seasonal: Edinburgh, London–Luton, Porto[29]
EgyptAir	Seasonal: Hurghada[30]
El Al	Tel Aviv[31]
Emirates	Dubai–International
Eurowings	Athens, Barcelona, Birmingham, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Fuerteventura, Larnaca,[32] Málaga, Rome–Fiumicino, Stockholm–Arlanda, Tenerife–South[33] Seasonal: Alicante,[34] Faro,[34] Heraklion,[32] Hurghada,[35] Marsa Alam,[35] Mykonos,[32] Palma de Mallorca[34]
Finnair	Helsinki
flydubai	Dubai–International
FlyErbil	Erbil[36]
flynas	Seasonal: Riyadh[37]
Iberia	Madrid
Icelandair	Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík (begins 1 June 2023)[38]
Israir Airlines	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Jazeera Airways	Seasonal: Kuwait City[39]
Jet2.com[40]	Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester Seasonal: Belfast–International,[41] East Midlands,[41] Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne
KLM	Amsterdam
Korean Air	Seoul–Incheon
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw–Chopin Seasonal charter: Krabi (begins 7 January 2023), Malé,[42][43] Nosy Be,[44] Punta Cana,[42][43] Zanzibar[42][43]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair	Luxembourg[45]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Copenhagen, Stavanger
Nouvelair	Seasonal charter: Monastir
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[46]
PLAY	Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík[47]
Qatar Airways	Doha[48]
Ryanair[49]	Amman–Queen Alia, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Bergamo, Bordeaux, Budapest, Charleroi, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, Košice, Kraków, London–Stansted, Madrid, Manchester, Marseille, Naples, Pisa, Riga, Rome–Fiumicino,[50] Treviso, Turin Seasonal: Billund, Bologna, Corfu, Palma de Mallorca, Pescara, Rhodes, Zadar
Salam Air	Seasonal: Muscat,[51] Salalah[51]
Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen, Stockholm–Arlanda
Smartwings[52]	Dubai–International, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada,[53] Lanzarote, Málaga, Marsa Alam, Palma de Mallorca, Split, Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Almería, Antalya, Burgas, Cagliari, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Funchal, Heraklion, Karpathos, Kefalonia, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Larnaca, Menorca, Murcia, Nice,[54] Olbia, Preveza/Lefkada, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini,[55] Thessaloniki, Tirana, Valencia, Varna, Zakynthos Seasonal charter: Agadir, Boa Vista, Bodrum, Dakar, Dalaman, Djerba, Enfidha, Girona, Ibiza, Izmir, Kalamata, Kavala, Lemnos, Mersa Matruh, Monastir, Muscat,[citation needed] Naples, Oujda, Palermo, Patras, Ras Al Khaimah, Sal, Salalah, Sharm el Sheikh, Skiathos, Taba
SunExpress	Antalya Seasonal: Izmir[56]
Swiss International Air Lines	Geneva, Zürich
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon
TAROM	Bucharest
Transavia	Eindhoven, Paris–Orly
Tunisair	Seasonal: Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul
Ukraine International Airlines	Kyiv–Boryspil (suspended)
United Airlines	Seasonal: Newark (resumes 26 May 2023)[57]
Uzbekistan Airways	Seasonal charter: Tashkent
Volotea	Nantes Seasonal: Lyon, Toulouse
Vueling	Amsterdam,[58] Barcelona, Paris–Orly[59]
Wizz Air	Bari, Bucharest (begins 2 December 2022),[60] Catania,[61] Chișinău,[20] Iași, Kutaisi, Larnaca, London–Luton,[62] Milan–Malpensa,[63] Naples,[64] Rome–Fiumicino,[65] Varna,[66] Venice[67]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Qatar Airways Cargo[68]	Budapest, Doha
Turkish Cargo[69]	Istanbul, Vilnius
UPS Airlines[70]	Cologne/Bonn

Statistics

Annual passenger numbers

Year	Passengers handled[lower-alpha 1]	Passenger % Change	Cargo (tonnes)	Cargo % Change
2001[71]	6,098,742		29,571
2002[72]	6,314,653		34,829
2003[73]	7,463,120		41,440
2004[71]	9,696,413		46,885
2005[71]	10,777,020		46,002
2006[74]	11,581,511	7.46	54,972	6.27
2007[75]	12,436,254	7.38	55,179	0.38
2008[76]	12,630,557	1.56	47,870	-13.25
2009[77]	11,643,366	-7.82	42,476	-11.27
2010[78]	11,556,858	-0.74	58,275	37.19
2011[79]	11,788,629	2.01	62,688	7.57
2012[80]	10,807,890	-8.32	52,977	-15.49
2013[81]	10,974,196	1.54	51,902	-2.03
2014[82]	11,149,926	1.60	50,897	-1.93
2015[83]	12,030,928	7.90	50,595	-0.59
2016[84]	13,074,517	8.67	71,091	40.51
2017[85]	15,415,001	17.9	81,879	15.18
2018[86]	16,797,006	8.97	80,915	-1.18
2019[1][2]	17,804,900	6.00	81,768	1.05
2020[87]	3,665,871	79.40	52,442	-35,86
2021[88]	4,388,826	19.72	--	--

It was the 35th busiest airport in Europe in 2019 and the second busiest (after Warsaw Chopin Airport) in the newer EU member states.

Busiest routes

The top 15 destinations by passengers handled in 2019 were:[89]

Rank	Airport	2019	2018
1	Amsterdam Schiphol	759,011	690,857
2	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	740,439	712,414
3	Moscow–Sheremetyevo	696,232	755,935
4	Frankfurt	527,836	524,302
5	Dubai	469,029	506,462
6	London–Heathrow	447,149	443,741
7	Barcelona	440,222	432,521
8	London–Stansted	435,969	408,188
9	Tel Aviv	381,488	388,847
10	Copenhagen	346,447	N/A
11	Brussels	334,140	329,181
12	Milan–Malpensa	321,229	304,417
13	Madrid	316,856	314,504
14	Helsinki	311,596	320,440
15	Antalya	298,212	N/A

Rank	Country	2011	2018[90]
1	United Kingdom	1,138,899	2,061,486
2	Italy	872,933	1,342,428
3	Germany	1,162,114	1,167,768
4	France	1,017,899	1,127,151
5	Spain	726,301	1,091,450

Other facilities

Czech Airlines has its head office, the APC Building,[91] on the grounds of Prague Airport.[92] On 30 December 2009 CSA announced that it will sell its head office to the airport for CZK 607 million.[93] Smartwings have their head office on the airport property.[94][95] In addition the Civil Aviation Authority also has its head office on the airport property.[96]

Ground transportation

Buses of DPP, the Prague Public Transit Co., stop at both terminals 1 and 2 frequently. A Czech Railways public bus service, AE – AirportExpress, connects Terminal 1 with Praha hlavní nádraží. From bus station in front of Terminal 1 there are also regular buses to Kladno, intercity buses of Regiojet run every 30–60 minutes to Karlovy Vary and Cheb.

There are plans to build a rail connection to the airport. Preliminary work commenced in 2018, with procurement proceedings launched the following year. Main construction is likely to start around 2023,[97][98][99] and completion is (as of summer 2022) expected to be 2029.[100]

According to a 2021 media report, the airport is to be served via a branch off the Prague-Kladno line, including an underground station to serve the airport. The project also includes double tracking and electrifying the existing single-track railway. The plan also includes upgrades to Prague-Masarykovo station[101]

Accidents and incidents

• On 19 February 1973, Aeroflot Flight 141, during approach a Tupolev Tu-154 crashed half a kilometre short of the airport. While most of the passengers survived the crash many died in the fire that followed. Altogether 66 people died from the 100 passengers and crew. The crash was the first loss of and the first fatal accident involving a Tu-154.[102]
• On 30 October 1975, Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450, a Douglas DC-9-32 hit high ground during an approach in fog to Prague Ruzyně Airport. 75 of the 120 passengers and crew on board were killed.[103]
• On 29 March 1989, two teenagers from Czechoslovakia armed with grenades and shotguns hijacked Malév Flight 640 at Prague Ruzyně Airport, and forced the Tupolev Tu-154B with 15 hostages to fly to Frankfurt Airport in West Germany before surrendering.[104]

See also

• List of airports in the Czech Republic

Notes

References

External links

Media related to Prague Ruzyně Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Prague airport information
• Current weather for LKPR at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LKPR at Aviation Safety Network

На других языках

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[de] Václav-Havel-Flughafen Prag

Der Václav-Havel-Flughafen Prag, bis Oktober 2012 Flughafen Praha-Ruzyně, ist der internationale Verkehrsflughafen der tschechischen Hauptstadt Prag und liegt bei Ruzyně im sechsten Prager Stadtbezirk, 15 km westlich des Stadtzentrums. Er befindet sich im Besitz des tschechischen Staates.

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- [en] Václav Havel Airport Prague

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[es] Aeropuerto de Praga

El Aeropuerto Internacional de Praga Václav Havel (IATA: PRG, OACI: LKPR) sirve a Praga, República Checa. Está ubicado a 10 km del centro de la ciudad y el aeropuerto es un centro de conexión para Czech Airlines. Fue inaugurado el 5 de abril de 1937.

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[fr] Aéroport de Prague-Václav-Havel

L'aéroport de Prague-Václav-Havel (en tchèque : Letiště Václava Havla Praha) (code IATA : PRG • code OACI : LKPR), anciennement appelé aéroport de Prague-Ruzyně, est l'aéroport qui dessert la ville tchèque de Prague. Il a pris ce nom le 5 octobre 2012 en hommage à Václav Havel, ancien, et premier, président tchèque décédé en 2011.

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[it] Aeroporto di Praga-Ruzyně

L'Aeroporto di Praga-Ruzyně[2] (IATA: PRG, ICAO: LKPR) (in ceco Letiště Praha-Ruzyně), noto con il nome commerciale di Aeroporto di Praga-Václav Havel (in ceco Letiště Václava Havla Praha), è un aeroporto ceco situato a 10 chilometri a Ovest del centro della città di Praga ed è l'aeroporto principale della Repubblica Ceca e uno dei più importanti dell'Europa centro-orientale. Nel 2007 sono transitati da Praga quasi 12 milioni e mezzo di passeggeri. L'aeroporto è intitolato, nella sua dicitura commerciale, a Václav Havel (1936-2011), ultimo presidente della Cecoslovacchia e primo della Repubblica Ceca.

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[ru] Прага (аэропорт)

Международный аэропорт имени Вацлава Гавела (чеш. Letiště Václava Havla Praha) — аэропорт чешского города Праги. Находится в районе Прага-6, кадастровый район Рузине. В 2007 году на церемонии «World Airport Awards» пражский аэропорт был признан лучшим аэропортом Центральной и Восточной Европы[1]. Аэропорт является базовым для авиакомпаний «Czech Airlines», «Travel Service Airlines», «Wizzair» и «Ryanair». Аэропорт назван в честь Вацлава Гавела, первого президента современной Чехии.

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