Anyone driving to Václav Havel Airport Prague over the coming days will need to add extra time – and patience – to their journey. A reconstruction of the Aviatická–Lipská fly-over junction has closed the main exit to the airport from the Kladno / Slaný direction, forcing all traffic onto a single diversion route. The closure, highlighted on the airport’s homepage with a yellow warning banner, runs from 9 to 25 September 2026 and coincides with the busy post-summer business-travel season. The detour funnels cars and coaches through several traffic-light intersections, already leading to queues of 20–30 minutes at morning peaks, according to Prague Airport’s parking operator. Ride-hailing firms report surge-pricing spikes around 25 %, while airport taxi company Fix Taxi has warned corporate account holders to expect journey times of “at least 45 minutes from Dejvice.” Business travellers catching early-morning departures on MALEV’s Budapest shuttle and Lufthansa’s 06:05 to Frankfurt – two of the airport’s most popular connection flights – are advised to leave central Prague before 04:30. Although the works are outside the airport perimeter, the disruption also affects on-airport logistics. Courier company DHL says its air-freight trucks now have to reroute via Horoměřice, adding 12 km per round trip and raising fuel costs at a time when diesel prices have already jumped 8 % month-on-month. Airlines are responding by keeping check-in and bag-drop counters open 30 minutes longer for the early bank of departures, a move that increases staff overtime budgets but avoids missing passengers and costly off-loads. For employers, the key message is communication. Travel managers at several Czech multinationals have already circulated alerts to staff and external visitors, recommending they book fixed-fare transfers rather than meter-based taxis and schedule meetings in Prague for the afternoon rather than the morning. Companies with fly-in fly-out contractors working on tight rotation patterns – particularly in the automotive plants around Mladá Boleslav – are urged to monitor the situation daily and consider rail or coach alternatives if the congestion worsens.
