Fairly speaking: There is a strike at the airport. Concern about holidays is increasing, but flights may not necessarily have to be from Prague.
Czech Airlines was a premium brand just a few decades ago before they were brought to ruin by Jaromír "Luftjarda" Tvrdík and Radomír Lašák. The last flight of the once-renowned national carrier took place less than two years ago. Currently, there is a strike at the Prague airport against the latter, who is set to take over the airport and possibly drain its resources as well. However, every cloud has a silver lining.
Václav Havel Airport is thriving and enjoying substantial profits. Although the currently striking union members and airport employees rightfully boast about managing COVID, the recent pandemic lockdown has accelerated the current travel boom. True, during the COVID depression, many people thought the golden era of air travel was over.
The opposite has become true. Holidaymakers eager to travel have realized that their passion is not a fundamental human right, and so they travel as long as they can. Thanks to this, the current airport management can boast solid profits. However, this year, it will face another fluctuation in demand for air transport caused by fear following Trump's war in the Persian Gulf.
Alena Schillerová (ANO) couldn't think of anything better than to tamper with the functioning airport machine now. The reason is obvious. The current government is filling key positions in state-owned companies with its people, and experienced manager Lašák is supposed to be a loyal henchman of the current government lineup.
Strike Against the Orbánization of the Airport
We know this approach in its most extreme form from Orbán's Hungary, which is now being revolutionarily changed by Peter Magyar, including the bizarre dismissal of the Hungarian president, who was to be replaced by a well-known chess player.
Nevertheless, in the Czech Republic, the appointment of positions is also nothing new, and the distribution of posts in state companies was also a lubricant enabling the operation of the opposition agreement from the times of Zeman and Klaus.
“We want development as a key gateway to the Czech Republic. Proof of this is my decision in June to leave it 80% of last year's net profit, which is exactly the opposite ratio chosen by the previous government,” Alena Schillerová defends her good intentions in a comment on X.
It's hard to avoid the bitter pill of how the new leadership led by Lašák will handle the increased budget. The airport workers even got upset enough to strike. Pirate doyen Ivan Bartoš supports the strike but warns against disrupting family vacations. He means well, but if they are serious at the airport, they should close the house altogether.
It is estimated that just one day without holiday departures would be enough for the prime minister to have to face the indignant public, and the airport would be saved. It might not even be necessary to set anything on fire, thus remaining in truly moderate lines compared to the real strike radicalism known, for example, from France (see the headline photo).
However, we are in the Czech Republic, and most likely, it will remain just threats, and the government will easily push through their person; they might back down from Lašák, but will choose a less obviously incompetent loyalist. Abilities among loyalists are secondary, and so the airport will suffer regardless.
What if investments were made outside of Prague?
The crisis could, however, open up an important question. Is it necessary for everything important (apart from the center of judicial power in Brno) to be based in Prague? In terms of infrastructure, the capital is bursting at the seams, while outside the center, people can only dream about the job opportunities of the capital.
Even airports in other large cities could offer more than 3-4 destinations with regular flights. When we look at the more populous but geographically much smaller Netherlands, even secondary airports in Eindhoven or Rotterdam offer a solid range of flights to European capitals.
If the state got involved in expanding air traffic in Brno and perhaps even in Ostrava, where Poles from nearby populous regions can also travel, there might not be a continuous personnel crisis at the airport in Prague. A similar move could be made with some important office or perhaps a smaller ministry (e.g., culture).
However, plans for investments in the Prague airport and the revival of fanciful ideas about building a government district postpone such a bold yet practical idea to times when the situation will be drastically more pressing than today.
Sources: author's article, commentary, X, SeznamZprávy, Neovlivni.cz, Eindhovenairport.nl,
