Part of Václav Havel International Airport to undergo renovation to accommodate giant A380s

Prague’s Václav Havel International Airport will undergo a makeover of one of its key areas and terminals to be able to accommodate giant Airbus A380s. In the past the plane has landed three times at the airport but regular flights, to begin from Seoul next summer, would stretch the airport beyond its capacity and would threaten delays. The airport plans to see renovation at the cost of 154 million crowns to be complete ahead of next summer.

Václav Havel International Airport, photo: Kristýna Maková

Concretely, area 14 at the airport will see renovation by construction giant Metrostav (the firm behind Prague’s Blanka Tunnel) to allow for three new boarding bridges and new infrastructure to facilitate the quick processing of an increased number of passengers. A380s to begin flying to Prague from Seoul next summer can carry up to 407 passengers, between 50 and 70 more than current Boeing 747s. Lengthwise, the planes are roughly the same, but the A380 has a wingspan approximately 15 metres greater. Ambitions to expand and improve Prague’s airport date back to 2011 when the A380 landed for the first time here, the Czech News Agency reported.

Photo: Aero Icarus, CC BY-SA 2.0

Otherwise, the gargantuan airbuses fly regularly to major international airports such as London’s Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle in Paris and the international airport in Frankfurt. Smaller facilities, in Zurich or Manchester, are capable of handling A380s with similar infrastructure to that planned in Prague.

As for the Korean Air A380 flights destined for Prague? There is a lot to look forward to: the carrier will offer some 300 economy class seats and – for the first time – business class on the plane’s top deck. It will be possible to lower 94 seats into fully flat sleeper position and those flying business or first-class will be able to make use of a salon to meet in. Twelve luxury seats at the front of the plane’s lower deck, then, are reserved for first class passengers.