Prague’s Václav Havel Airport began the working week in crisis-response mode on Monday, 2 March 2026, after regional air-space closures triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran forced the cancellation of 32 departures and arrivals to the Middle East the previous day. Airport spokeswoman Denisa Hejtmánková said a further 17 flights were scrubbed on Monday morning, chiefly services operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways. Routes to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha remain suspended until further notice. With more than 3,400 cancellations logged at seven major Middle-Eastern hubs in 48 hours, Czech officials are now focused on getting their nationals home. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told reporters that 3,500 Czech citizens had registered in the DROZD travel-tracker system in the United Arab Emirates alone, with hundreds more in Oman, Jordan and Israel.
![Prague Airport Scraps 32 Middle-East Flights as Czech Government Activates Crisis Cell]()
Amid the shifting travel landscape, services like VisaHQ can simplify an otherwise stressful situation for Czech travellers. The online platform—available at https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/—provides up-to-date visa and entry requirements, assists with electronic travel authorisations, and can even expedite passport renewals, giving passengers clearer options when flights are being rerouted at short notice.
Two Smartwings repatriation flights left Prague on Monday bound for Muscat and Salalah to collect stranded holiday-makers and business travellers. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš convened the State Security Council at 10:00 to review contingency measures, including a possible expansion of police patrols at Czech airports and railway stations if the conflict spills over into Europe. National security adviser Hynek Kmoníček warned that “limited radicalisation” within parts of Europe’s Muslim communities could not be ruled out, but said intelligence services currently see no credible large-scale threat in Czechia. For corporates, the disruption is a wake-up call ahead of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) launch later this year. Logistics analysts note that supply-chain routings for Czech exporters that rely on Gulf hubs are vulnerable; several automotive suppliers have already shifted urgent components to sea-freight via Koper and Rotterdam. Travel managers at multinational firms, meanwhile, are re-routing duty trips via Istanbul and Athens, adding hours and cost to itineraries. Passengers with affected tickets have been offered free re-booking or refunds by most carriers. Prague Airport advises travellers to check real-time updates and to sign up for DROZD alerts before travelling to the region. Czech labor-law experts remind employers that under the Occupational Safety Act they must not send staff into areas for which the Foreign Ministry has issued a level-4 warning.
Amid the shifting travel landscape, services like VisaHQ can simplify an otherwise stressful situation for Czech travellers. The online platform—available at https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/—provides up-to-date visa and entry requirements, assists with electronic travel authorisations, and can even expedite passport renewals, giving passengers clearer options when flights are being rerouted at short notice.
Two Smartwings repatriation flights left Prague on Monday bound for Muscat and Salalah to collect stranded holiday-makers and business travellers. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš convened the State Security Council at 10:00 to review contingency measures, including a possible expansion of police patrols at Czech airports and railway stations if the conflict spills over into Europe. National security adviser Hynek Kmoníček warned that “limited radicalisation” within parts of Europe’s Muslim communities could not be ruled out, but said intelligence services currently see no credible large-scale threat in Czechia. For corporates, the disruption is a wake-up call ahead of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) launch later this year. Logistics analysts note that supply-chain routings for Czech exporters that rely on Gulf hubs are vulnerable; several automotive suppliers have already shifted urgent components to sea-freight via Koper and Rotterdam. Travel managers at multinational firms, meanwhile, are re-routing duty trips via Istanbul and Athens, adding hours and cost to itineraries. Passengers with affected tickets have been offered free re-booking or refunds by most carriers. Prague Airport advises travellers to check real-time updates and to sign up for DROZD alerts before travelling to the region. Czech labor-law experts remind employers that under the Occupational Safety Act they must not send staff into areas for which the Foreign Ministry has issued a level-4 warning.
