Prague Airport will distribute 13.3 million crowns this year among districts and municipalities affected by increased noise levels caused by the temporary shift of flight operations to its secondary runway.

The move comes as the airport undergoes modernization works on its main runway, which began in late March and are scheduled to run until August 14.

The funds will go toward local projects including playground renovations, community gardens, school repairs, and tree planting. The airport confirmed the figures through its spokesperson, Denisa Hejtmánková.

The payments are not legal compensation — the airport operates within established noise limits and is not breaching any regulations. Instead, they take the form of voluntary donations, structured through formal donation contracts, with amounts calculated based on the population of each affected area.

The distribution follows a similar initiative from last year, when the same section of the main runway was closed for modernization over the same period and the airport paid out more than ten million crowns to surrounding communities.

Prague 17 will receive three million crowns for the reconstruction of a playground on Laudova Street.

Prague 6 has been allocated 2.5 million crowns, which will fund a community garden in the Dědiny neighbourhood and a public art project. Prague 5 will put two million crowns toward renovating Tyršova Elementary School, while Prague 4 will use 650,000 crowns for tree planting.

Prague 13 will receive 850,000 crowns to replace windows in a building used by Sananim, a non-profit focused on drug addiction prevention and treatment. The city of Kladno will get one million crowns for the renovation of the Zvonek children’s daycare centre.

The largest single allocation — 3.3 million crowns — goes to the Lidický potok valley microregion, a cluster of ten municipalities including Dolany, Lidice, and Mokrotřasy.

Until a parallel runway is built alongside the main one, the airport has no alternative during closures but to redirect all operations to the secondary runway. That runway’s approach and departure paths take aircraft directly over densely populated areas of Prague and the Central Bohemian Region.

Despite the disruption, Václav Havel Airport continues to post strong passenger figures. Last year, it handled more than 17.75 million travellers, close to the record of 17.8 million set in 2019.

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more