Prague’s Václav Havel Airport has confirmed that 17.75 million travellers passed through its terminals in 2025—an 8.5 percent jump on the previous year and the closest the hub has come to its all-time record of 17.9 million set in 2019. The rebound is remarkable given lingering aircraft-delivery delays, a patchy global economic outlook, and the knock-on effects of regional conflicts that continue to reshape air-traffic flows across Europe. Airport management attributes the growth to a combination of fuller aircraft (load factors rose as airlines up-gauged to larger jets) and an aggressive route-development strategy that added 19 new destinations, including long-haul links to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Toronto and a daily Seoul flight. Low-cost carriers now account for 45 percent of the airport’s volume, underscoring the Czech capital’s appeal to cost-conscious leisure and SME business travellers.
Behind the headline figure lies a broader story about Czechia’s positioning in the European mobility landscape. The United Kingdom remained the top origin market (2.2 million passengers), followed by Italy and Spain, illustrating how reopened tourism corridors and near-shoring of meetings and events are reshaping corporate travel patterns. Business-leisure (“bleisure”) itineraries are rising too, helped by deeper cooperation between the airport, Prague Convention Bureau, and CzechTourism to package conference passes with rail tickets to secondary Czech cities. Airlines have responded by beefing up seating capacity rather than frequency, a move that reduces per-seat emissions and dovetails with the EU’s Fit-for-55 climate objectives.
The surge carries practical implications for mobility managers. Hotel occupancy in Prague already exceeds 80 percent on peak spring weekends, and airport authorities warn that security-checkpoint wait times could stretch past 25 minutes during the Easter and summer waves. Corporates are being advised to book mid-week arrivals, leverage the airport’s fast-track lane programme, and encourage employees to use the newly expanded Airport Express rail-bus link to avoid road congestion around Terminal 2. Meanwhile, ground handlers are hiring an additional 600 seasonal staff and rolling out biometric e-gates for EU/EEA travellers ahead of the Schengen Entry/Exit System’s full activation in April 2026.
![Prague Airport Closes 2025 With 17.75 Million Passengers, Sets Sights on Nearly 19 Million in 2026]()
Whether you’re handling a corporate group’s multi-city itinerary or planning a solo weekend in Prague, navigating visa formalities can add unnecessary stress. VisaHQ simplifies the process with an easy-to-use online platform that explains Czech visa requirements, offers real-time application tracking, and provides optional courier pickup and delivery services. Visit https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/ to see how they can smooth your journey to and through Czechia.
Looking ahead, Prague Airport projects between 18.3 million and 18.9 million passengers in 2026, with 85 airlines scheduled to serve 195 destinations. Confirmed newcomers include American Airlines (daily Philadelphia from May), AJet (Bodrum), and additional Eurowings leisure routes. Should those numbers materialise, Czechia’s main gateway will not only surpass its pre-pandemic peak but also cement its role as a Central-European alternative to Vienna and Munich for long-haul connections—good news for multinationals seeking diversified travel hubs and for the Czech economy, where tourism already supports roughly 240,000 jobs.
For the wider mobility ecosystem, the message is clear: capacity is back, connectivity is widening, and Prague is once again an attractive springboard for both business and expatriate assignments across the region.
Behind the headline figure lies a broader story about Czechia’s positioning in the European mobility landscape. The United Kingdom remained the top origin market (2.2 million passengers), followed by Italy and Spain, illustrating how reopened tourism corridors and near-shoring of meetings and events are reshaping corporate travel patterns. Business-leisure (“bleisure”) itineraries are rising too, helped by deeper cooperation between the airport, Prague Convention Bureau, and CzechTourism to package conference passes with rail tickets to secondary Czech cities. Airlines have responded by beefing up seating capacity rather than frequency, a move that reduces per-seat emissions and dovetails with the EU’s Fit-for-55 climate objectives.
The surge carries practical implications for mobility managers. Hotel occupancy in Prague already exceeds 80 percent on peak spring weekends, and airport authorities warn that security-checkpoint wait times could stretch past 25 minutes during the Easter and summer waves. Corporates are being advised to book mid-week arrivals, leverage the airport’s fast-track lane programme, and encourage employees to use the newly expanded Airport Express rail-bus link to avoid road congestion around Terminal 2. Meanwhile, ground handlers are hiring an additional 600 seasonal staff and rolling out biometric e-gates for EU/EEA travellers ahead of the Schengen Entry/Exit System’s full activation in April 2026.
Whether you’re handling a corporate group’s multi-city itinerary or planning a solo weekend in Prague, navigating visa formalities can add unnecessary stress. VisaHQ simplifies the process with an easy-to-use online platform that explains Czech visa requirements, offers real-time application tracking, and provides optional courier pickup and delivery services. Visit https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/ to see how they can smooth your journey to and through Czechia.
Looking ahead, Prague Airport projects between 18.3 million and 18.9 million passengers in 2026, with 85 airlines scheduled to serve 195 destinations. Confirmed newcomers include American Airlines (daily Philadelphia from May), AJet (Bodrum), and additional Eurowings leisure routes. Should those numbers materialise, Czechia’s main gateway will not only surpass its pre-pandemic peak but also cement its role as a Central-European alternative to Vienna and Munich for long-haul connections—good news for multinationals seeking diversified travel hubs and for the Czech economy, where tourism already supports roughly 240,000 jobs.
For the wider mobility ecosystem, the message is clear: capacity is back, connectivity is widening, and Prague is once again an attractive springboard for both business and expatriate assignments across the region.
