The airport in Prague-Ruzyně began construction 80 years ago

Prague - The airport in Prague-Ruzyně, which has been named Václav Havel Airport Prague since last October, is among the most important air hubs in the region. The construction of this transport hub, through which aircraft from approximately fifty airlines connect Prague with about 130 cities around the world, began with a consortium of companies Konstruktiva and Lanna eighty years ago, on July 24, 1933.
    The construction of the new airport was necessitated by the insufficient capacity of the existing international airport in Prague-Kbely. In March 1929, the government decided to purchase 108 hectares of land between the municipalities of Hostivice, Ruzyně, Středokluky, Dobrovíz, and Přední Kopanina for the then value of 17.5 million crowns. This flat location met most of the requirements, particularly its proximity to the center of Prague and the possibility of further expansion.
    In 1931, a public anonymous competition was announced for the airport's design, to which 25 proposals were submitted. However, no winner was selected from the competition, as the jury did not choose a winner. Thus, individual buildings from various proposals were realized. The construction, with a budget of 110 million crowns of the time, lasted 44 months and was completed on March 1, 1937. Interestingly, construction firms were contractually limited in their use of mechanization, as this extensive state investment was also intended to reduce unemployment.
    The airport began operations on April 5, 1937, when at 09:00 a DC-2 aircraft of Czechoslovak State Airlines landed at its premises on the Piešťany-Zlín-Brno-Prague route. On that day, international operations also started, with the first being a flight by the Belgian company SABENA.
    The new Prague airport had excellent parameters for its time and was among the most modern in Europe. It featured two paved grass runways with embedded lighting signals, and its communication and other technical equipment were of top quality. Its architectural design received recognition - the terminal building designed by architect Adolf Benš won a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Art and Technology in Paris in 1937.
    Shortly after its opening, the airport underwent an expansion to roughly triple its original area, and concrete landing strips began to be constructed as well. The development of the airport was then slowed down by the occupation, when it was seized by the German Luftwaffe, and the subsequent rise of communism, which imposed partial isolation from the outside world, which was also reflected in the development of air transport. Despite this, the airport grew significantly, as between 1960 and 1968 the new airport was built alongside the existing "old" one. This northern airport included a 3100-meter long runway, a terminal, a repair hangar, and other service buildings. The total area of the airport was expanded to 800 hectares.
    The new airport was put into operation on June 15, 1968, and one of its first "users" was again the occupiers' aircraft, this time Soviet ones. The new construction significantly increased capacity to 2.3 million passengers, and the runways could accommodate large-capacity aircraft. Further renovations were undertaken from 1989 to 1992, but even they were not enough to meet the growing demand for air transport.
    In the mid-1990s, further construction began, expanding the airport with a new terminal complex, cargo terminals, and other facilities. The terminals could then serve up to 20 million passengers annually, but the limited capacity of the runway remained a problem. Consequently, about 11 million passengers currently pass through Ruzyně each year. The airport is therefore preparing to build a new runway, with its opening expected no earlier than 2016.
    The airport, which employs around 2000 staff and, according to estimates, other companies operating at or related to the airport employ about 15,000 people, is currently a subsidiary of Czech Aeroholding. This company oversees state-owned companies operating in the field of air transport and related ground services.