Ruzyně Airport was renamed the Václav Havel Prague Airport
The International Airport in Prague-Ruzyně already bears a new name, being renamed the Václav Havel Prague Airport during a ceremony which began at twelve o’clock. Appearing on stage was Miroslav Dvořák, CEO and Chairman of the Czech Aeroholding, Karel Schwarzenberg, the Vice-Premier, representing the Government of the Czech Republic, with Miroslav Kalousek, the Minister of Finance, giving a speach on behalf of the owner of the Czech Aeroholding, followed by an address given by Bohuslav Svoboda, the Mayor of Prague. The final word went to Mrs Dagmar Havel.
The master of the ceremony, which is the culmination of several months of preparations for the renaming of the airport, was Marek Eben. Musical accompaniment was provided by the Castle Guard and Czech Police Orchestra. The event was attended by over 700 representatives of political, social and cultural life. Besides the above-mentioned speakers, participation in the ceremony was also accepted by Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Přemysl Sobotka, the First Vice-President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Alena Palečková, the Vice-President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Pavel Dobeš, the Minister of Transport, Alexandr Vondra, the Minister of Defence, and other representatives of both chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, ambassadors based in the Czech Republic, personalities close to Vaclav Havel and business partners of the Prague Airport. No foreign guests were invited.
As of today, the name Václav Havel Airport Prague will be used to refer to the buildings of the airport’s terminals, in announcements made over the airport’s PA system, in public mass transit system buses, on board aircrafts, in airport buses and also in Prague Airport’s corporate materials and on the company’s website (www.prg.aero).
Part of the ceremony was also the launching of an exhibition of photographs of Vaclav Havel from the archives of the Czech News Agency, which is based on the exhibition presented at Prague’s Old Town Hall. The panels are located in Terminal 2 and will remain there until the end of the year to give the general public a chance to look at them. The object de art, which was prepared by the architect Bořek Šípek and his team, is a reminder of the permanently work of Václav Havel. This artifact, called Havels’ Forum, is located at the end of the building connecting Terminals 1 and 2. Films associated with Vaclav Havel will be screened until the end of October at Cinema Time, which has been operating at the airport for some time now and is accessible to the general public free of charge.