Traffic at Prague’s international airport grew 6 percent during the summer holidays breaking new records, but its chairman Václav Řehoř warns investments must start immediately to ensure the airport’s future. Two projects in particular are needed: expansion of Terminal 2 and the construction of a second runway. Řehoř told Hospodářské noviny that the once he gets approval for the investment from the Ministry of Finance, he’ll file documentation for zoning permits, followed by construction permit applications and project documentation. Preparations would likely take until 2025, if all goes well, with construction work on the CZK 15bn investment likely to take three years. This would include an extension of Terminal 2 with nine additional gates as well as the tarmac investments needed to support them. Rehoř said Warsaw caught up to Prague in 2017 in terms of passenger numbers while Budapest is gaining quickly. Warsaw’s advantage is that it has a strong domestic carrier with a large fleet of planes and long haul ambitions. Prague is in discussions with other airlines interested in creating a hub in the coming years, but they’ll only do so if the expansion plans are finalized.
