Travel Interest Continues to Grow; Passenger Numbers Double in June 2021

"The latest results and the continued estimates of the ongoing summer season have confirmed that the interest of Czechs in travel is increasing. Flights to typical holiday destinations are mostly popular. In the main holiday months, we expect to handle over one million passengers at Václav Havel Airport Prague. In July alone, according to preliminary estimates, more than 550,000 people could pass through the gates of the airport. We urge passengers who are just getting ready for their summer trips to carefully review the valid travel conditions and to arrive at the airport allowing enough time," Jaroslav Filip, Director of Prague Airport Aviation Business, said.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, several brand-new routes, which were not previously operated by carriers, have been launched from Prague. This is a positive signal from the airlines, but also a confirmation of the efforts of the Prague Airport team.

Passengers can now fly from Václav Havel Airport Prague to more than 100 destinations operated by over 40 airlines. Blue Air has launched a new route to Bucharest, Aegean Airlines now operates Heraklion, EgyptAir flies to Hurghada, and Smartwings has launched its service to Nice on the famous Côte d'Azur. New destinations were also introduced in Prague by low-cost airlines. easyJet has launched its Barcelona route, Ryanair now flies to Warsaw Modlin Airport, and Wizz Air has started operating its new routes to Rome and Catania. The Hungarian low-cost carrier will also add a new route to Naples, Italy, to its network during September 2021. There are also regular flights to a number of popular holiday destinations, such as Croatia, Spain, Greece and Turkey. Regular flights to Cyprus, Malta and the Canary Islands are also available.

During June 2021, most passengers departing from Prague flew to Amsterdam, Rhodes or Frankfurt. Popular holiday destinations included Hurghada, Heraklion and Mallorca. Flights to Marsa Alam and Burgas, alongside popular Greek Islands - Kos and Corfu, were also popular with holiday goers. A total of 5,058 take-offs and landings (i.e., movements) were performed at Václav Havel Airport Prague in June 2021, representing a 120% increase compared to June 2020. These statistics include regular, charter, private and cargo flights combined.  

Comparisons of Handled Passengers per Selected Holiday Destinations (May vs June 2021):

Rhodes                        + 657%
Hurghada                    +   38%
Kos                              + 652%
Palma de Mallorca      + 125%
Split                             + 703%

Current overview of available connections from Prague is to be found by passengers on the Prague Airport website.

Pre-flight Recommendations

It remains recommended to passengers with scheduled flights to review all currently valid conditions for travel before the trip. This includes both the conditions implemented in their final destination and the measures governing their return to the Czech Republic.

During check-in, passengers are to present:

• A completed Country Entry Form, if required by their final destination
• A printed Covid-19 negative test result, vaccination certificate or Covid-19 recovery confirmation (subject to specific respective country requirements)
• A valid travel document (national ID or passport)

Throughout the 2021 summer season, passengers should be arriving at the airport allowing enough time, i.e., at least three hours prior to the scheduled departure of their flight.

Passengers should also be aware of all applicable measures aboard their airline-operated aircraft as well as measures implemented at Prague Airport. In line with these measures, we strongly appeal to travellers to:

• Mandatorily wear FFP2 respirators or alternative when inside the airport
• Maintain a safe distance from other travellers
• Pay increased attention to hand hygiene and use hand sanitizers regularly