Václav Havel Airport Prague
Facts on PRG
Prague's airport opened at Ruzyně on 5 April 1937, replacing Kbely Airport, which had served as the city's civil field since 1919. Kbely now houses the Prague Aviation Museum.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport is named for Václav Havel, a Czech playwright and dissident who became the last president of Czechoslovakia in 1989 and the first president of the Czech Republic in 1993. He was imprisoned for nearly four years between 1979 and 1983 for his activism before leading the Civic Forum party during the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport was renamed after Havel on 5 October 2012 — the day that would have been his 76th birthday. The change followed an online petition, launched by Slovak film director Fero Fenič on 20 December 2011, that gathered over 65,000 signatures within a single week.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport's original 1937 check-in building, designed by architect Adolf Benš and now used as Terminal 4, won a Diploma and Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris World's Fair for the technical conception of its architecture.
Source: Wikipedia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, Soviet paratroopers seized the airport, using it to land the troops and transport aircraft that carried out the invasion of Czechoslovakia — one of the most dramatic episodes in the airport's history.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport served around 17 million passengers in 2018. It was the hub for Czech Airlines until that carrier ceased operations in late 2024, and it now serves as the hub for Smartwings and an operating base for Ryanair and Eurowings.
Source: Wikipedia
Terminal 2, used for flights within the Schengen area, opened on 17 January 2006, decades after Terminal 1 (for non-Schengen flights) opened in 1968 and was rebuilt in 1997 — the two terminals were built roughly 40 years apart.
Source: Wikipedia
A planned rail connection to Prague's Masarykovo train station, with express trains covering the route non-stop in 25 minutes, is set to begin construction in 2027 and open in 2030, finally giving the airport a direct rail link to the city centre.
Source: Wikipedia