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Ambulances and fire fighter were out in force at Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport on Friday evening due to an emergency landing of a plane that reported a tire problem. The plane eventually managed to land safely.  Airport spokeswoman Klára Divíšková said the flight which reported problems was an A350 aircraft of the Spanish low-cost airline World2fly flying from Vietnam to Prague. Prague airport diverted several flights elsewhere because of the emergency landing.

Heavy snowfall is causing problems around Czechia. Many smaller roads are impassable and a heightened number of accidents are complicating traffic along the country’s main highways. A state of emergency is in place in the South Bohemia region which had 75 centimeters of fresh snow overnight. Power outages have left thousands of people without heating.

The Vysočina region also reports severe complications and drivers have been advised not to set out for the mountain regions if possible. Although road maintenance workers are out in force, the situation is complicated by fresh snow which should continue falling throughout the day. Between 30 and 40 centimeters of fresh snow are expected to fall in southern Bohemia and Moravia, Prague should see between 15 and 30 centimeters of fresh snow on Saturday.

The Prague Castle Administration will launch a competition for new leases of houses in Prague’s renowned Golden Lane. It wants to revive traditional crafts in the picturesque houses lining the historic street. There are sixteen small houses in the Golden Lane, each with a different-coloured facade, the smallest with a floor area of just fourteen square meters. Over the centuries, the lane has undergone a number of reconstructions. The houses were inhabited until the Second World War. The one-time dwellings for the castle’s grooms and servants have become a major tourist attraction.

The Prague City Council has lifted the nighttime ban on motor vehicles is some parts of the Old Town. In a review procedure, the city council said the measure was not properly justified and the traffic signs placed in the given areas thus never actually came into force. The street signs were installed last week by the Technical Administration of Communications on the instructions of Prague 1.

Prague 1 councilor Vojtěch Ryvola countered on Facebook that the ruling invalidating the decision will not come into force for 15 days, and until then the signs are valid. He added that the district authorities would start discussing measures to enforce a new ban.