Prague airport faces key vote by city officials on second runway

The fate of Prague's international airport future development is to be decided last this week when the city assembly votes on whether to allow a second parallel runway to be built. Transportation experts say the airport's long-term growth is threatened by its reliance on a single runway and that even now it's close to its theoretical capacity. However, the vote comes in the midst of a transportation crisis unprecedented in modern history, with passenger numbers down nearly 90 percent as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The Czech Chamber of Commerce warns that failure to allow the construction of a second runway will mean the airport will remain a second-rate facility, making it difficult to attract new airlines and to improve service levels. It's also arguing that a second runway would allow more flights to be handled in a shorter period of time. This would mean the airport could be entirely closed to flights between midnight and 5:30 a.m.