Prague’s Václav Havel Airport has added a prestigious trophy to its cabinet after being named the overall winner at the Routes Europe 2026 awards ceremony in Rimini on 31 May 2026. The accolade recognises the best route-development performance across the continent and is decided by a panel of airline and tourism executives. The Czech hub first topped the five-to-20-million-passenger category – it processed 17.8 million travellers in 2025, up 8.5 % year-on-year and already beyond pre-Covid levels – and then went on to beat Florence and Athens to take the grand prize.
![Prague Airport Crowned Overall Winner at Routes Europe 2026]()
For travellers plotting journeys through this rapidly expanding hub, VisaHQ can simplify visa formalities for both inbound visitors and Czech residents connecting to the airport’s growing list of long-haul destinations. The company’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers step-by-step application support, real-time entry-rule updates and bulk-processing options for corporate travel departments, ensuring paperwork keeps pace with Prague’s new routes.
Judges highlighted Prague’s aggressive network-expansion strategy: the airport supported 46 new routes and 24 entirely new destinations last year and attracted 12 additional carriers, bringing the total number of operators to 89. Long-haul connectivity is the next frontier. American Airlines will inaugurate a Philadelphia link this summer, while Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines has chosen Prague for its first European destination, with a Taipei service slated for Q4 2026. They join recent additions to Seoul (Asiana), Toronto (Air Canada), Abu Dhabi (Etihad) and Sharjah (Air Arabia), bolstering options for Czech exporters and for multinationals that use the capital as a Central-European hub. For corporates, the award is more than a marketing coup: greater non-stop reach cuts journey times and carbon footprints for executives shuttling between Europe, North America and Asia. The airport authority is also fast-tracking the rollout of biometric e-gates and self-service transfer kiosks, aiming to shave transfer times below 25 minutes – a key consideration for business-class itineraries. Travel-management companies advise clients to watch seat-capacity announcements closely: introductory fares on new long-haul sectors are expected to sell out quickly, and interline partnerships will influence through-checked baggage policies. Meanwhile, HR teams relocating staff to Prague can leverage the expanded network to negotiate more favourable airfares under global contracts.
For travellers plotting journeys through this rapidly expanding hub, VisaHQ can simplify visa formalities for both inbound visitors and Czech residents connecting to the airport’s growing list of long-haul destinations. The company’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers step-by-step application support, real-time entry-rule updates and bulk-processing options for corporate travel departments, ensuring paperwork keeps pace with Prague’s new routes.
Judges highlighted Prague’s aggressive network-expansion strategy: the airport supported 46 new routes and 24 entirely new destinations last year and attracted 12 additional carriers, bringing the total number of operators to 89. Long-haul connectivity is the next frontier. American Airlines will inaugurate a Philadelphia link this summer, while Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines has chosen Prague for its first European destination, with a Taipei service slated for Q4 2026. They join recent additions to Seoul (Asiana), Toronto (Air Canada), Abu Dhabi (Etihad) and Sharjah (Air Arabia), bolstering options for Czech exporters and for multinationals that use the capital as a Central-European hub. For corporates, the award is more than a marketing coup: greater non-stop reach cuts journey times and carbon footprints for executives shuttling between Europe, North America and Asia. The airport authority is also fast-tracking the rollout of biometric e-gates and self-service transfer kiosks, aiming to shave transfer times below 25 minutes – a key consideration for business-class itineraries. Travel-management companies advise clients to watch seat-capacity announcements closely: introductory fares on new long-haul sectors are expected to sell out quickly, and interline partnerships will influence through-checked baggage policies. Meanwhile, HR teams relocating staff to Prague can leverage the expanded network to negotiate more favourable airfares under global contracts.
