Flights diverted from Prague Airport due to dense fog, lightning strike

Weather-related issues have disrupted travel to Prague's Václav Havel Airport Prague on Saturday, with multiple flights diverted to other airports or cancelled throughout the day. Officials expect the situation to continue through at least early Saturday evening.

A lightning strike at the airport's weather station on Thursday night had previously resulted in malfunctioning weather equipment. Combined with heavy fog throughout the day on Saturday, traffic to Prague Airport has been restricted due to poor visibility.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) has reported that the issue is yet to be resolved as of Saturday afternoon, and could result in additional flight diversions and cancellations. The situation is expected to persist until the evening hours as the weather worsens.

According to the ČHMÚ, the malfunction relates to the weather data system that supplies information to incoming planes. A thunderstorm occurred at the airport on Thursday evening, during which lightning struck the meteorological station building, causing a failure in central data collection from monitoring systems. The repair process is underway, but the system has not yet been fully restored.

As a result, alternative procedures have been implemented for providing meteorological services to the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic. While normal operations would be able to continue under favorable visibility, today's dense fog has led to restricted airport operations.

Through 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, twelve planes were unable to land due to the fog and were routed to other destinations. An additional seven flights headed to Prague were canceled. Although had been improvement in the situation around 10:00 a.m., further deterioration of the weather led to continued restrictions on arrivals through at least Saturday evening.

To mitigate the impact, Air Navigation Services is diverting aircraft unable to land in Prague to alternative airports, depending on the conditions at specific locations. Airport spokesperson Richard Klíma told Novinky.cz that these airports could include Pardubice, Brno, or Vienna.

Passengers are advised to stay updated on the status of their flights and check with the airlines for any changes or alternative arrangements. Airport authorities are working diligently to resolve the issue and restore normal operations as soon as possible.