Prague Airport Is to Modernise Main Runway Surroundings with Works Start Scheduled End of March

“The renovation of the area around the main runway is absolutely vital and we cannot postpone it,” Eva Krejčí, Director of Prague Airport Communications and Marketing, said and added: “For the required time, we will use the secondary runway for all air traffic. As this runway is not adapted for take-offs and landings in reduced visibility, we are performing repairs in the months when, based on long-term statistics, the incidence of fog is the lowest. We have notified the representatives of the affected areas about the scheduled work in advance. We apologise to the citizens who will be affected by this fact, but until the parallel runway is in operation, we have no other option but to transfer all traffic to the secondary runway.” During the closure of the main runway, arrivals will be directed mainly towards Prague, while take-offs towards Kladno. 

Maintenance around the main runway includes the implementation of a total of 15 construction and technological projects with the aim of using the closure period to the maximum. The largest projects include repairs and constructions of taxiways alongside reconstruction of a sewage system segment to increase the capacity of water drainage from the airport's paved areas. All of these structures are located in close proximity to the main runway and therefore do not allow its use for take-offs and landings at the time of the project implementation. However, no repairs are to be performed on the main runway as it underwent a complete reconstruction in 2012 and 2013.

The Road and Motorway Directorate (RSD) will use the closure at Václav Havel Airport Prague for its own construction activities on the D7 motorway, which significantly affects the operation of the main runway. For this reason, the individual steps are coordinated. “On the D7 motorway, near the Aviatická level crossing interchange, we are planning to perform a complex reconstruction of a bridge used by Václav Havel Airport Prague. This is a bridge which is not publicly accessible and is used for airport equipment. The construction work will include the demolition of the original bridge structure and the construction of a new one that will be 1.5 times longer and will enable the planned expansion of the motorway in this section from two to three lanes in each direction. Originally, the reconstruction was part of the planned reconstruction of the level crossing interchange, but as a result of coordination with air traffic, we will implement it in advance, as a separate project. During the demolition, the motorway will be completely closed for one weekend. We would like to start the reconstruction, which will take a maximum of 200 days, at the end of March. We are currently selecting a contractor,” Jan Rýdl, the Road and Motorway Directorate Head of Communications Department, stated.

In 2026, the work will continue during approximately the same part of the year, comprising additional constructions and technological work. “Unfortunately, the repairs may not all be performed at once in one year, as the required time would result in the work being extended in months with a higher incidence of adverse weather conditions, especially fog,” Eva Krejčí specified.

Concurrently, Prague Airport continues to pursue the parallel runway construction project. After the launch of its operation, repairs and modifications to the runway system will be handled outside the densely populated areas of Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. The zoning procedure for this construction is currently underway.