Prague–Kbely Airport (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: ''letiště Praha–Kbely'') (

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: LKKB) is a military airport located in Kbely, in the northeast municipal district of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Once Prague's principal airport, it is now used mainly as a military base for the

Czech Air Force The Czech Air Force () is the air force branch of the Army of the Czech Republic, Army of Czechia. Along with the Czech Land Forces, Land Forces, the Air Force is the major Czech military force. With traditions of military aviation dating back to ...

. It is the Czech republic's first ever airport. Kbely airfield is no longer used as a front-line Czech Air Force base, but it is utilised by military transport aircraft of the Czech Air Force, and the VIP aircraft which are used to transport Czech politicians. Kbely Aviation Museum is also located at this airport, with a collection that includes 275 aircraft. Kbely Airport is very close to Letňany Airport, located to the northwest, which has two green runways and is currently used as a venue for air shows and other events.

History

Kbely Airport was built in 1918 and was Prague's only airport until the construction of Ruzyně Airport in 1937, on the northwest side of the city. It was the first Czechoslovak military airfield, and during the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

was the venue for several major public air shows. Between 1918 and 1937, it served

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

and was home base of (ČLS) and

Czechoslovak Airlines Czech Airlines (abbreviation: ČSA, ) is a Czech aviation brand and privately held holding company. Between 1923 and 2024, it operated as an independent airline and served as the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Czech Airlines ended its own fl ...

(ČSA; now Czech Airlines). The first scheduled flight operated by Czechoslovak Airlines departed from Kbely for

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

in October 1923.

References

Kbely Kbely Airport Buildings and structures in Prague Airports established in 1918 1918 establishments in Czechoslovakia Military airbases 20th-century architecture in the Czech Republic {{Europe-airport-stub

History

See also

References