Airport Guide

History of Prague Ruzyne International Airport

After running out of space at the military airfield at nearby Kbely, the Czech government opted to build a new airport in the suburb of Ruzyne in the mid 1930s. The new terminal was an immediate hit, being awarded the Gold Medal for its architecture at the 1937 International Art and Technical Exhibition in Paris and welcoming thousands of air travellers keen to visit the historic city centre.

Over the years, the political and economic changes that have affected the Czech Republic as a whole have impacted upon its principal airport.

For example, a number of national carriers have come and gone, while infrastructure development was severely curtailed in the middle of the century, only really picking up again in the 1990s.

Fortunately for airport chiefs, the founders had the foresight to locate it in an area capable of handling further expansion. As such, work is currently underway on a second runway, which will allow it to cope with the boom being seen in passenger numbers, largely as a result of the low-cost flights revolution.

Travelling to Prague Ruzyne International Airport

Though located relatively close to the centre of the Czech capital, transportation between the heart of Prague and its airport's terminals remains relatively inefficient when compared to other destinations.

Passengers disembarking will first have to take the bus number 119 to a Metro terminal before transferring onto a tram into the centre. Though cheap, this link takes over 40 minutes and the Metro stops running after midnight, from when it is necessary to take the – even slower - 510 bus between the two destinations.

Those travellers wishing to pay a little more are able to jump on the special Airport Express, which links the terminals with the Holesovice Station in the centre, though the half-hourly services finish at 22:00.

Airlines flying from Prague Ruzyne International Airport

Czech Airlines operates the greatest number of national and international flights out of Prague's main airport. Alongside several short-haul domestic services, there are also links to neighbouring cities within Central and Eastern Europe, including Brno, Bratislava, Budapest, Ekaterinburg and Warsaw.

Longer-haul international destinations serviced by the national carrier include Amsterdam, Brussels, Kuwait City, London Heathrow, Madrid, St Petersburg and Toronto.

Over recent years, a number of low-cost airlines have started to fly from Prague Ruzyne, most notably SkyEurope. The budget carrier offers cheap flights to more than a dozen destinations, including Amsterdam, London Luton, Paris-Orly and Venice-Treviso.

In comparison, Ryanair flies to just Birmingham, Dublin, East Midlands, Hahn and Stockholm from Prague, while other low-cost airlines flying out of the Czech capital include Smart Wings and Sterling Airlines.

A number of other national carriers also operate flights to their respective capitals, including British Airways, Iberia, Korean Air, Swiss International and Turkish Airlines.