Penta intends to sue the Czech Environmental Ministry for throwing out the positive environmental impact assessment the company secured for the airport it wants to build in the city’s Vodochody district.
Penta plans to invest CZK 3bn into the airport, which would be used by low-cost airlines and charter companies. Penta’s co-owner, Marek Dospiva, says the government does not want another airport in the capital that would compete with the state-owned Václav Havel Airport in Prague-Ruzyně and decrease its revenue base. A second airport would also lower the value of Václav Havel Airport at a time when the government is considering selling a minority stake on the stock exchange. Hospodářské noviny writes that Penta might be hoping that the state will buy the Vodochody airport and retain its monopoly, but Finance Minister Andrej Babiš insists the state does not need another airport.
