What's On The Horizon For: Prague Airport

Speaking to Routes in Aarhus during Routes Europe 2024, Prague Airport (PRG) outlined numerous route successes and how the biggest airport in the Czech Republic has expanded its airline partnerships.

PRG has announced 15 new destinations and six new carriers since the beginning of 2024, expanding its network to over 70 destinations. This follows a successful 2023, during which the airport handled 13.8 million passengers and received approval for a major expansion to increase annual capacity to 21.2 million passengers by 2030.

Highlights of the airport’s summer 2024 schedule include the return of Hainan Airlines with a flight from Beijing starting on June 24; Qanot Sharq Airlines connecting PRG with Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Egyptair beginning flights to Cairo. PRG has also bolstered its European connections with Georgian Airways launching a route to Tbilisi, Georgia, FlyOne to Chisinau, Moldova, and Eurowings to Tallinn, Estonia.

Additionally, existing partners have expanded their networks, with Volotea adding routes to Verona and Florence and Ryanair adding a route to Poznan, Poland. Prague-based Smartwings has also increased its offer, adding flights to Abu Dhabi, Santa Cruz De La Palma, Ponta Delgada, and Brindisi.

With a catchment area of over 8.5 million people, PRG aims to enhance its connectivity across Europe, particularly targeting Vilnius due to high demand from Lithuania. Other Western European targets include Toulouse, Hamburg, and Billund.

On the long-haul side, PRG is looking to establish connections to Hanoi, Bangkok, and Tokyo in Asia, as well as New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Toronto in North America, according to Jiri Vyskoc, executive director of aviation business development at PRG.

At Routes Europe 2024, Vyskoc emphasized the importance of Routes events for networking with airline and airport partners, saying: “We are happy to have our stand at Routes Europe that provides us with the opportunity to promote Prague as a destination in partnership with our tourism authority.”

Through its Routes 360 membership, PRG frequently sends email campaigns to target airlines to raise awareness of its successes and developments and has uploaded unserved route opportunities on its profile.