The Prague Airport will expand to 23 million passengers by the year 2035

Prague - Václav Havel Airport Prague is expected to increase its capacity to up to 23 million passengers per year by 2035. This year, it will handle 17.7 million people, which is a year-on-year increase of 5.8 percent. This was stated by the chairman of the airport's board, Václav Řehoř, at today's roundtable meeting of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. The airport is already facing capacity issues. According to Řehoř, it had to reject ten percent of arrivals to Terminal 1, for example, this summer. The number of passengers has been continuously increasing since 2013.

A condition for increasing the airport's capacity is the construction of a parallel runway, centralization of security checks, and the establishment of new boarding gates D and E. Gate D is expected to be constructed at Terminal 2 by 2029 and will provide nine contact stands and five stands for long-haul flights, while Gate E will be built by 2036.

Along with the completion of the parallel runway, the existing secondary runway will need to be decommissioned. After the new runway is put into operation in about eight years, the expectation is to cancel night operations at the airport. The runway will only be used for takeoffs. Once it is operational, the airport's movement capacity will increase to 250,000 per year.

Transport Minister Vladimír Kremlík (for ANO) added that by 2028, an electrified double-track railway line should lead to the airport and further to Kladno. The construction of several grade-separated intersections on the Prague ring road and roads leading to the airport is planned.

The journey from the center of Prague to Václav Havel Airport in Ruzyně is expected to take 25 minutes after the planned railway line is completed. The railway, costing nearly 40 billion crowns, which will also lead to Kladno, has only a portion currently under development at the Negrelli Viaduct. The adaptation of the single-track, non-electrified line to Kladno with a branch to Prague Airport has been in preparation for many years. The new connection is expected to allow for a ten-minute interval for trains going to the airport and to Kladno.