In short: Any flight departing from Václav Havel Airport Prague that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.
Live at Prague (PRG) today
About the airport
Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) serves Prague, Czech Republic. On the routes Eurostat reports, 10,269,522 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 47th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Amsterdam, Rome, Paris, Frankfurt.
Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.
Busiest routes from Prague – and what a delay is worth
The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.
| Destination | Passengers 2024 | Distance | From PRG | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam AMS | 652,228 | 705 km | €250 | €250 |
| Rome FCO | 485,390 | 935 km | €250 | €250 |
| Paris CDG | 455,782 | 852 km | €250 | €250 |
| Frankfurt FRA | 438,753 | 407 km | €250 | €250 |
| Barcelona BCN | 412,534 | 1,358 km | €250 | €250 |
| Antalya AYT | 391,213 | 1,975 km | €400 | €400* |
| Milan MXP | 350,775 | 646 km | €250 | €250 |
| Madrid MAD | 339,185 | 1,749 km | €400 | €400 |
| Istanbul IST | 315,280 | 1,488 km | €250 | €250* |
| Zurich ZRH | 305,949 | 511 km | €250 | €250 |
| Copenhagen CPH | 267,786 | 623 km | €250 | €250 |
| Milan BGY | 253,521 | 598 km | €250 | €250 |
| Málaga AGP | 242,499 | 2,116 km | €400 | €400 |
| Warsaw WAW | 232,719 | 521 km | €250 | €250 |
| Munich MUC | 218,897 | 265 km | €250 | €250 |
| Brussels BRU | 207,707 | 697 km | €250 | €250 |
| Palma de Mallorca PMI | 204,183 | 1,480 km | €250 | €250 |
| Dublin DUB | 203,686 | 1,454 km | €250 | €250 |
| Paris ORY | 194,549 | 873 km | €250 | €250 |
| Helsinki HEL | 170,555 | 1,320 km | €250 | €250 |
| Vienna VIE | 166,245 | 278 km | €250 | €250 |
| Lisbon LIS | 164,439 | 2,229 km | €400 | €400 |
| Istanbul SAW | 160,074 | 1,551 km | €400 | €400* |
| Athens ATH | 157,127 | 1,556 km | €400 | €400 |
| Rhodes RHO | 148,834 | 1,884 km | €400 | €400 |
| Stockholm ARN | 142,339 | 1,087 km | €250 | €250 |
| Oslo OSL | 130,348 | 1,140 km | €250 | €250 |
| Crete HER | 126,800 | 1,864 km | €400 | €400 |
| Riga RIX | 120,665 | 992 km | €250 | €250 |
| Budapest BUD | 120,458 | 472 km | €250 | €250 |
* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.
Air traffic flow delays at Václav Havel (2025)
EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 69,793 flights arrived at PRG; 1,645 of them were held back this way, 910 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.56 minutes per arrival.
What caused the ATFM delay
Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Worst days: 19 December 2025 – 5,613 minutes, mostly weather; 5 January 2025 – 3,456 minutes, mostly weather; 21 December 2025 – 3,030 minutes, mostly weather.
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 54,172 arrivals, 1.01 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (80%) and equipment (non-ATC) (17%).
Check what happened at PRG on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (95% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (1%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.
Typical delay causes at Václav Havel Airport Prague
- EUROCONTROL recorded 69,793 arrivals at PRG in 2025; 1,645 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 910 of them by more than 15 minutes.
- The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (95%).
- The worst day was 19 December 2025, with 5,613 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
- Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
Check your flight from Prague
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Local information
- Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
- From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
- If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Václav Havel Airport Prague?
Yes. PRG is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.
Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Václav Havel Airport Prague?
If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.
How is the length of the delay measured?
By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.
Related guides
- Flight delay compensation
- Missed connection compensation
- National enforcement bodies and ADR
- All airports
Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.
Sources
- Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
- EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.