Like Tom Hanks in the movie Terminal. At the airport in Prague you can sleep and sit in the cockpit
Waiting at the airport can be pretty boring. Whether you needed to arrive in advance, the plane is delayed, an emergency has happened, or you are flying at non-standard times. At the same time, Prague Airport offers a number of interesting activities, with which you can not only shorten the wait, but also enrich the weekend. He tries to compensate for the losses from the weak summer season.
While Václav Havel Airport burst at the seams last summer and planes flew and flew for a few minutes, this season is much calmer. Air traffic has been affected by the effects of coronavirus since March, when de facto traffic stopped, and although strict measures were relaxed in the Czech Republic at the end of May, Václav Havel Airport terminals and traffic remain rather quiet despite the peak main summer holiday season.
The impression is also confirmed by statistics. In June, about 39 people traveled through the airport, which was five times more than in May. However, it is still a year-on-year decline of about 98 percent. “According to preliminary estimates, we could handle over 220 passengers in July and up to 400,000 passengers in August. Over 1.9 million passengers were checked in in July,” compares Denisa Hejtmánková from the press department of Prague Airport.
Although more than two months have passed since the release, a number of shops and restaurants remain closed at the airport. And some of them, such as the pharmacy at Terminal 2, have changed opening hours. The lower traffic thus inspired the management of Prague Airport to be more open to the public.
Wedding overlooking the airport runway
In addition to excursions to places that ordinary travelers do not have the opportunity to explore, the airport also offers birthday parties or weddings from the beginning of July. “According to our expectations, we have weddings for next year, which we address the individual requirements of the couple. We will be able to expand the offer of weddings next year, for example, a terrace at Terminal 1, which is currently under reconstruction,” says Hejtmánková.
Excursions, during which those interested immerse themselves in the secrets of the airport and look into normally inaccessible places, are among the most popular activities. Until the end of the summer, you can go on a group or individual tour every day, the ticket costs 220 crowns.
Excursion to the backstage of the airport organism
Petr Pfleger has been working at Prague Airport for several years and has tried out a number of different job positions, and now he uses his experience and knowledge to carry out groups, among other things. It tells the story of the airport and the technical specifications of the machines in the blink of an eye. Over the architectural model of Václav Havel Airport at Terminal 3, he explains the differences between controls within and outside the Schengen area and then moves with all groups to security control. You all have to go through it, regardless of whether they end up on a plane.
“Can you take off the tape?” the airport employee asks the visitor at the security frame. “But my pants will fall off,” he explains. “We’re used to it,” says surveillance calmly.
After the inspection, the departure hall for private and business flights is kept secret. It looks exactly the same as in Terminals 1 and 2, only there are fewer seats here and the journey to the planes is shorter. A Piper PA-42 Cheyenne of a private company is parked in front of the terminal, and the final preparations before departure are also completed by a Boeing 737 of a well-known Czech businessman.
Guide Petr Pfleger provides participants with additional information on the operation of the entire airport system while the bus travels through the areas of the southern and northern parts of the airport, while people view the hangars, cargo zone or firefighters’ facilities. The newly established Runway Park, coming along the route from the main part of the airport to Terminal 3, is also aimed at those interested in airport technology, including the fire brigade. People can also see the cockpit of an Airbus A319 aircraft there.
Summer events at Prague Airport are a reaction to the decline in traffic. “We decided to see this non-standard situation as an opportunity and show the only areas of our airport, special equipment or new places to the general public,” he says.
although this year is much calmer in terms of the number of connections and passengers, you will not know it on the departure board with a layman’s eye. The Sunday board shows departures every ten minutes, some of them even before five in the morning.
In the skin of Viktor Navorský
If you fly at a non-standard hour or change and you have a lot of time, you can use the hotel room in AeroRooms at the airport from last year, which is exactly halfway between Terminal 1 and 2. It costs 2000 crowns per night.
In addition, the airport has started offering Night at Airport experience packages, which include an excursion, breakfast in the newly renovated Runway Restaurant and parking in front of the terminal. The package for two costs 2930 crowns.
The entrance to AeroRooms is next to the KFC restaurant, a long corridor and elevator leading to the floor where the reception is located. The receptionist in uniform then writes down the name of the guest, checks the ID and also the ticket. After handing over the cards from the room, one can immerse oneself at least for a while in the role of Viktor Navorský from the famous film Terminal with Tom Hanks.
However, unlike the film hero from the fictional country of Cracow, the accommodation has freedom of movement, and if they are lucky, they will also get a view of the never-sleeping control tower – only from the most important places in the entire airport. The soundproofed windows of the hotel do not allow airport noise in the room, so only the air conditioning is humming slightly. There is also peace in the hotel corridor. Once every few hours, the arrival of the elevator intersects and the departure or arrival of new visitors.
The airport appeals to wear veils and hand disinfection
If you prefer a hot meal on the ground to an on-air menu or overpriced sandwiches in front of the boarding gates, you should not miss the renovated Terminal 1 Runway Restaurant. And prices range from 110 crowns.
It is still recommended to wear veils and wash or disinfect your hands throughout the airport. Hejtmánková states that the airport takes care of regular disinfection of all areas and that there are transparent plexiglass at the check-in and information counters.
There has also been a test site for covid-19 at the airport since June. Applicants are usually checked in within two to three minutes; in the specially designated area between Terminals 1 and 2, people have to walk one by one, keep their distance and have a veil.
Each of the participants receives a serial number, according to which the employees call her. Only people with a valid ticket can register for the paid test. The standard test costs 1750 crowns, the express results from 75 hours then 7500.
While the airport handled almost 18 million passengers a year, this year it is 2.55 million so far in the first half of the year. “For the whole of this year, according to current forecasts, we could handle approximately 5.5 million passengers. However, everything is related to the further development of the epidemiological situation abroad and also to the demand for travel and gradual return of foreign tourists to Prague and the Czech Republic.” concludes Denisa Hejtmánková.