<Pražská rada nesouhlasí se změnou územního plánu k nové ranveji> The Prague Council disagrees with the change of the zoning plan for the new runway

Prague - Prague councilors today did not recommend a change to the zoning plan necessary for the construction of a new runway that the state-owned Václav Havel Airport Prague plans. The change was originally proposed for approval, but the councilors, by a majority vote, opted for a non-recommendatory position. The final decision on the changes will be made by the council. The airport aims to start construction of the parallel runway in about five years.

The new runway is intended to complement the existing one, thereby increasing capacity to up to 30 million passengers per year. Last year, terminals at Ruzyně handled a record 17.8 million passengers, which, according to airport representatives, was at the edge of capacity. This year, operations have dropped to a minimum due to the coronavirus. According to earlier plans, the airport would like to obtain a building permit in 2025 and complete construction three years later. Costs are estimated at around nine billion crowns.

Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) previously stated that the construction of a new runway is not necessary and that the city is no longer able to accommodate more tourists than arrived annually before the coronavirus. The mayor's deputy Petr Hlubuček (STAN) previously justified his rejection by stating, among other reasons, that the new runway would create noise pollution for tens of thousands of people, as well as institutions such as the Czech University of Life Sciences or the zoo. Representatives of Prague Sobě also opposed the construction.

Today, Hřib added that if the new runway were to be built, local governments would have to gain the ability to regulate accommodation services like Airbnb, as proposed by the capital in the Chamber of Deputies. "Unfortunately, the Chamber has not yet addressed this," he said. He added that the runway could not be built earlier than the rapid transit line to the airport, as current schedules indicate. Jan Čižinský, head of the Prague Sobě club, expressed a similar view, stating that it is not possible to plan such projects in isolation from the entire transportation system.

The STAN movement does not agree with TOP 09 on this issue, with whom they form the coalition United Forces for Prague, which does not reject the construction. "There are clear economic and ecological reasons why a second runway should be built in Prague. It is not possible to bury one's head in the sand in front of social and economic developments," stated the chairman of Prague's TOP 09 and United Forces delegational club, Jiří Pospíšil. He added that support or opposition to the runway is not included in the coalition's program statement, and his party respects the differing opinion of its partners.

The mayor's deputy Petr Hlaváček (for TOP 09) pointed out that the councilors were obliged to approve the change because it is included in the Principles of Land Development of the city and in the Policy of Land Development of the Czech Republic, and according to the Building Act, lower territorial documentation must be in accordance with higher ones.

The airport has already applied for a zoning decision for the construction; however, it is currently suspended because the court canceled the update of the principles of land development of the Central Bohemian Region at the request of the city districts of Nebušice and Suchdol, which defined the area for construction. The airport, along with the Directorate of Roads and Highways, has filed a cassation complaint against the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court, which has not yet been resolved. At the same time, it requested a postponement of the validity of the ruling until a decision on the complaint is made, but the court rejected this, and the zoning procedure must remain suspended.