Parallel runway

The concept to build a second, parallel, runway at Prague airport is not a new one. The plan to build the parallel runway in due course was already in place when the current main runway RWY 06/24 (originally RWY 07/25) was built in 1961 - 1963. At the beginning of the 70s, the plan was made part of the land use planning documentation of the capital city of Prague, including Guiding Land Use Plan and Land Use Plan of the Capital City of Prague.

While during the first year of operations of the main runway RWY 06/24, Prague Airport serviced 1 million passengers on 45 thousand take-offs and landings, in the year 2007, there were 12.5 million serviced passengers on 175 thousand take-offs and landings. Despite the fact that the number of serviced passengers grew more than 12 times the amount and the number of aircraft movements about four times the amount since 1963, the airport runway system has remained virtually the same. As passenger interest in Prague and the Czech Republic has not been on the ebb, the airport expects to see the numbers of serviced passengers and dispatched flights to grow also in the future. In 2012, the airport expects to welcome about 15 million passengers a year and in 2019 it is expected that the number will exceed 20 million serviced passengers.

The weakest point in the quest to assure further development of Prague Airport seems to be the runway system capacity. At the beginning of 2006, the new Terminal 2 launch of operations represented an instant capacity increase in regards to passenger check-in; it is expected that the capacity will suffice, at least, for the next 10 years. On the other hand, the airport runway system has for some time not been sufficient for operations at peak times and without its further development will become the main obstacle to the planned growth of Prague/Ruzyne airport.

Prague Airport is an important part of the Czech Republic’s transport infrastructure. Therefore, the construction of the parallel runway has been supported by the Czech Republic’s Government in accordance with documents “Land Development Policy of the Czech Republic” and “Transportation Policy of the Czech Republic in the years 2005 - 2013”.