Posted: 5 March 2026 | Gabriel Higgins | No comments yet

Václav Havel Airport Prague will divert all traffic to its secondary runway during a 4.5 month closure to deliver safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

Credit: Prague Airport

Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) will begin the second phase of the closure of its main runway 06/24 on 30 March 2026, with the shutdown expected to last approximately four and a half months until 14 August. During this period, all aircraft operations will be transferred to the secondary runway 12/30 while the airport carries out a series of infrastructure upgrades, safety improvements and coordinated engineering works.

The closure forms part of a broader modernisation programme designed to maintain operational safety and reliability while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. A total of 14 projects led by Prague Airport will be completed during the closure, representing investment of around CZK 1 billion. The work will also be coordinated with three major infrastructure initiatives delivered by external partners.

During the closure period, aircraft arrival and departure routes will be redirected to the secondary runway, with arrivals planned primarily from the direction of Prague and departures directed towards Kladno. Because the secondary runway’s flight paths cross densely populated areas of Prague and the Central Bohemian Region, airport authorities have acknowledged that the changes will temporarily increase aircraft overflights in those communities.

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Eva Krejčí, Director of Communications and Marketing at Prague Airport, said: “We will use the secondary runway for all air traffic for as long as necessary. This year, the closure is also taking place during the spring and summer months because the runway is not equipped for low visibility take offs and landings.”

She added that scheduling the works during this period helps minimise disruption from fog conditions that are more common during autumn and winter months.

“For this reason, we are carrying out repairs in the months when, based on long term statistics, the incidence of fog is lowest. We apologise to the citizens affected by this situation, but until the parallel runway is in operation, we have no other option than to transfer all traffic to the secondary runway,” Krejčí said.

The redevelopment of infrastructure around the main runway is one of the first major modernisation projects planned for the airport in the coming years. Key works include reconstruction and expansion of taxiway crossings, installation of new cable ducts and replacement of the airport’s perimeter fence. Upgrades will also include new LED guidance signals used for aircraft navigation during taxiing, take off and landing operations.

In total, approximately 565 LED airfield lights will be installed as part of the project. Engineers will also construct more than 3.3 kilometres of new cable routes and lay around 160 kilometres of cabling to support modern airfield systems and future operational requirements.

Taxiway infrastructure will also undergo significant improvements. Around 55,000 square metres of taxiway surfaces will be repaired or reconstructed, while nearly 8,000 square metres of paved areas will be expanded to support aircraft ground movements.

Additional maintenance work will be undertaken during the closure, including removal of rubber deposits from pavement surfaces, restoration of runway and taxiway markings, maintenance of underground infrastructure and repairs to both paved and unpaved operational areas.

Despite the scale of the programme, the main runway itself will not undergo structural reconstruction. Runway 06/24 was fully rebuilt between 2012 and 2013 and remains in good condition. Instead, the focus of the current project is on surrounding infrastructure and supporting systems that are essential for safe and efficient airport operations.

Several external partners will also take advantage of the runway closure to complete associated infrastructure upgrades. Pražská plynárenská will replace a high pressure gas pipeline running through the airport area, while Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic will install new Instrument Landing System radio navigation equipment serving runway direction 24.

In addition, the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic will carry out improvements to increase the capacity of the Aviatická and Lipská road intersection near the airport.

Airport authorities said coordinating such a large number of simultaneous infrastructure works required extensive long term planning and collaboration between stakeholders.

Looking ahead, Prague Airport is continuing preparations for the construction of a future parallel runway. Once completed, the new runway will allow the current secondary runway to be retired and will provide greater operational flexibility during maintenance activities, reducing the need for traffic diversion over densely populated areas.

At present, the parallel runway project has received a non final zoning decision as part of the planning process.

According to airport officials, the current programme of works will be completed within 2026, and no similarly extensive runway closure is expected next year.

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Air traffic control/management (ATC/ATM), Airport construction and design, Airside operations, Capacity, Engineering, Operational efficiency, Runways and pavements, Safety, Sustainability

Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG)

Europe

Eva Krejčí