We met with Ing. Jiří Pos, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Václav Havel Airport Prague, to talk about plans for the future.

BA: The airport served around 14 million passengers in 2023. How long will it take to return to the pre-covid levels of 18 million?
JP: We believe passenger numbers should reach pre-covid levels by 2026 as shown in the following graphic.

BA: I recently flew from Teesside Airport in North-East England, where they have these new security scanners that allow you to leave liquids and electronics in your hand luggage. Will we see these introduced at Prague airport?
JP: Yes, we hope that Terminal 2 will have these next year.

BA: One thing, I never understood was why are there security checkpoints at each gate in Terminal 1, whereas Terminal 2 has one security at the entrance to departures. Why is that?
JP: Arriving and departing passengers from non-Schengen area flights can’t be mixed after security. Terminal 1 is an old building and can’t support a two-level concourse. As a result, we have to put the security checkpoints at the entrance to the gate. Our future plan does change this by expanding Terminal 2 and making Terminal 1 Schengen.

BA: Travel to and from the airport involves taking the 119 Bus for a tour of the airport grounds, before arriving at the Nádraží Veleslavín metro station. Can we ever expect to see a train connection into the centre?
JP: Next year, a new trolleybus connection will be introduced, although that will still follow the same route as the 119. We also plan to double the number of parking spaces by 2029. We hope that in 2030 there will be train into the centre.

BA: A train between the airport and centre would be amazing, although I’ll believe it when I see it! What other future plans do you have?
JP: The airport needs a parallel runway. Currently, the two runways cross each other. Post 2030, we hope to have this in place – that would also enable us to close both runways between midnight and 05:30.

JP: We’ve also produced an ‘On the Path to the Future’ video.

Thanks to Ing. Jiří Pos for providing a view of the evolution of Prague airport.

For more information, please visit the ‘Ready for the Future’ website: https://letisteprobudoucnost.cz/en

Václav Havel Airport Prague
Aviatická, 161 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic

https://www.prg.aero/en#/