Prague senators oppose the construction of a new runway in Ruzyně

Prague – The construction of a parallel runway at Václav Havel Airport in Prague's Ruzyně is not in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and climate protection, nor with maintaining the quality of life in Prague and the surrounding airport area, according to Prague senators. The Prague senators called on the government to abandon the intention to build the parallel runway and expand the airport. They communicated this in a press release following today's meeting of the Forum of Prague Senators with experts. Last year, the airport handled 17.8 million passengers, almost a million more than the previous year. According to the Ministry of Finance, however, investments in airport expansion are necessary because further increases in passenger numbers can be expected in the future, and the airport was already at the brink of its capacity last year.

The senators agreed that the considered projects worth up to 55 billion crowns could lead to a doubling of the number of passengers, an increase in flights, noise, and emissions. At the same time, the growing tourism would continue to drive up housing prices and further depopulate the city center.

"Another runway and the expansion of Václav Havel Airport is the idea of ruthless lunatics who only look at their profit," said Senator Jiří Růžička (TOP 09).

Also attending the meeting was the mayor of Prague-Suchdol, Petr Hejl (STAN), who stated that residents of the affected neighborhoods and municipalities voted against it in a referendum, and he considered the expansion of the airport towards the city to be nonsense.

In support of tourism, Liběna Jarolímková from the Department of Tourism at the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Economics emphasized that tourism benefits the economy of the entire country and that Prague is undoubtedly the most significant tourist destination and needs an airport with good capacity.

The construction of the new runway was also supported at the meeting by the chairman of the board of Airport Prague, Václav Řehoř. One of the arguments was that airlines prefer to fly to Prague rather than to the regions. According to him, the development of the airport pertains to a time frame of 30 or 50 years. The company will want to fly more and more.

Several senators pointed to the sustainability of tourism. Senators Hampl, Marek Hilšer (from the STAN club), or Ladislav Kos (Movement for Prague 11) pointed out that tourism would hit its ceiling in the future. "The expansiveness of both the airport and tourism cannot go on indefinitely," said Kos. "Prague is not inflatable," added Hilšer.

The senators subsequently called on the government to abandon the plan to build the runway and increase the airport's capacity due to the sustainability of tourism and the quality of life in Prague and the entire Czech Republic.

The Ministry of Finance, which represents the state in relation to the airport, reminded that the airport had already been on the brink of its capacity in previous years and that investments in its expansion are therefore necessary. "The number of passengers at Václav Havel Airport Prague has been increasing in recent years, and a similar trend is also expected in the future," noted Zdeněk Vojtěch from the ministry. He recalled plans to expand the second terminal, which is expected to be completed by 2028; later, the parallel runway could also be completed. "The operation of this runway will lead to a more environmentally friendly and significantly safer operation," added Vojtěch.

The Forum of Prague Senators is an informal platform of senators elected from Prague districts who discuss issues concerning Prague and advocate for the interests of Prague residents. All ten senators elected from Prague districts participate in it.