Article
citation information:
Macioszek, E. Functioning of selected
airports in Poland. Scientific Journal of
Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport. 2021, 112, 135-144. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2021.112.7.11
Elżbieta MACIOSZEK[1]
FUNCTIONING
OF SELECTED AIRPORTS IN POLAND
Summary. Nowadays, air transport
is treated as a dynamically developing sector of the world economy. The
technological solutions used in this kind of transport are highly advanced;
thus, generate high costs, ranging from research through production to the
implementation phase. Due to its technological advancement, air transport has
several significant advantages over other kinds of transport. This paper
presents the characteristics of selected airports in Poland together with
statistical data characterising the functioning of the airports. In addition,
the plans in recent years regarding the development of air transport
infrastructure in Poland were summarised.
Keywords: transportation, air transport, civil
engineering and transportation
1. INTRODUCTION
Air transport is the fastest and safest kind of transport for people and
goods in the world. The importance of air transport on a global scale is
constantly growing. The increase in the share of this kind of transport is
majorly responsible for the development trends and intensification of
international economic relations, as well as for the use of foreign investment
capital and the generation of a high percentage in the tourism sector. A
characteristic feature of air transport is the concentration of airports mainly
around larger agglomerations with large population centres.
The most famous and largest airports, in the case of Poland, are located near
large metropolises such as Warsaw, Katowice and Poznań
[3].
Air transport and its related market are presently treated as a
dynamically developing branch of the world economy. The technological solutions
used in this kind of transport are highly advanced; thus, generate high costs,
ranging from research through production to the implementation phase. Due to its
technological advancement, air transport has several significant advantages
over other kinds of transport. Hence, many studies can be found on the subject
in the scientific literature, both detailed and directly related to air
transport, including the requirements related to this form of transport of
people and goods, for example [2, 6-8, 12-14, 18, 20, 21], as well as
concerning air transport as an element of the country's logistic system [1, 4,
9, 10, 15, 17]. Moreover, the outbreak of an epidemic related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes an infectious disease of the
respiratory system – COVID-19, negatively
impacted all sectors of the economy, including air transport, as reflected in
numerous scientific works [16, 19].
This paper presents the characteristics of selected airports in Poland
together with statistical data characterising the
functioning of the airports. In addition, the plans in recent years regarding
the development of air transport infrastructure in Poland were summarised.
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED
AIRPORTS IN POLAND
Discussing infrastructural issues in the air sector in Poland, one
should start with the oldest airport in Poland, that is, the Fryderyk Chopin
International Airport in Warsaw. The Frederic Chopin International Airport in
Warsaw is the central and largest airport in Poland, located approximately
The second loaded airport in Poland is the John Paul II International
Airport Krakow-Balice. However, this facility is only
the sixth largest airport in Poland in terms of usable space. According to [5],
its area is over
Another International Airport of key importance for Poland is the
Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport,
commissioned in 1966, located
Alternatively, one of the most modern airports in Poland is the Warsaw-Modlin airport located in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, which was put into service in 2012.
The estimated capacity of the airport is 3.5 million passengers per year. The
area of the airport is approximately
The M. Kopernik International Airport in Wrocław is located
In turn, the airport in Jasionka near Rzeszów has an area of
The football world championships organised in
Poland and Ukraine in 2012 contributed to the development of the transport
infrastructure, including the aviation infrastructure. In addition to the
expansion and modernisation of several airports, new
airports were also created, for example, the Lublin airport, located in Świdnik, put into service in 2012, with an area of
The growing importance of air transport is conducive to the expansion of
individual airports, as some of them achieve increasingly higher capacity
values that are similar to their annual capacity, thus, necessitating the
construction of new airports. Thus, to ensure an adequate supply of air
services, as well as to obtain the largest possible number of permanent
domestic and international connections offered by financially and organisationally stable carriers, airports should be
adapted to the ever-increasing requirements of the customers. Investments
carried out at many airports in Poland contribute to the comfort of travellers and facilitate the work of complex organisational structures of the airport, which require
extraordinary precision during the working day. The development of aviation
infrastructure translates into an increase in the number of air connections. In
addition, a significant reduction in air transport costs favours
the popularisation of travelling by this means of
transport, which with the high accident rates typical of other forms of
transport, makes this form of transport even more attractive.
2.1. Fryderyk Chopin International
Airport in Warsaw
The Fryderyk Chopin International Airport in Warsaw is the fastest
growing airport in Europe and ranks third in terms of the increase in the
number of passengers served. It is also a central transfer point in Central and
Eastern Europe. The dynamics of the airport's operation increases every year.
The only limitation in its development is the dense buildings adjacent to it,
which limits the further expansion of the airport area, therefore, requiring
the expansion of the airport in Radom. Figure 1 shows the number of passengers
handled in domestic, international and charter traffic in 2016-2019 via the
Fryderyk Chopin International Airport in Warsaw.
Source: author’s research based on data presented in [22]
In Figure 1, large discrepancies can be seen between the number of
registered passengers on international and charter flights. The largest number
of passengers travelled in 2019, this number exceeded 17 million passengers,
which is slightly more than 1 million passengers more than in
Situated at the F. Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, is the
largest cargo terminal in Poland, operating cargo and courier services. The
main carriers involved in cargo transport include LOT Polish Airlines, UPS
Airlines, European Air Transport, Emirates, TNT Airways [23]. This airport
currently handles over seventy percent of cargo traffic in Poland. In Figure 2,
data on the volume of cargo and courier items for 2016-2019 are presented.
In Figure 3, scheduled carriers operating at the F. Chopin International
Airport in Warsaw in 2018 are presented. LOT Polish Airlines performs the most
flights on domestic and international routes. This is followed by WizzAir, which belongs to the group of "low-cost"
carriers. This carrier is very popular in Poland. The F. Chopin International
Airport in Warsaw is the largest transfer airport in Poland. Statistical data
on the functioning of the F. Chopin International Airport in Warsaw allows one
to state that the number of passengers using the airport is constantly growing.
Fig. 2. Cargo transport in F. Chopin International
Airport in Warsaw in 2016-2019
Source: author’s research based on data presented in [22]
Fig. 3. Scheduled carriers operating at F. Chopin
International Airport in Warsaw in 2018
Source: author’s research based on data presented in [22]
2.2. Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport
The
Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport provides the
largest number of charter connections compared to other airports in Poland. The
airport serves passengers from neighbouring voivodeships with the Silesian voivodeship
as well, for example, from the Opolskie, Małopolskie, Łódzkie
voivodships, and even the inhabitants of Ostrava (Czech Republic). The
advantage of the airport is its location as it is the highest located airport
in Poland, which often translates into very good conditions for landing and
taking off, which is why this airport is often called an alternate airport, for
example, for Krakow. The Katowice Pyrzowice
International Airport performs flight operations almost 24 hours a day (unlike,
among others, the
Fryderyk Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, where there is a night break between 23:30 and 5:30). Figure 4 presents
the number of passengers handled at the airport in regular and charter traffic
in 2016-2019. Over the four years, the number of passengers gradually
increased, which is undoubtedly influenced by the continuous modernisation of
the airport and providing passengers with conditions enabling comfortable
travel. In the analysed period, the number of
passengers on charter flights grew and approached the number of passengers
served on regular flights. In 2019, more than 2 million passengers on charter
flights were handled at the airport, which is a much larger number compared to
other airports in Poland. The most popular destinations for charter flights in
the Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport in 2019
are Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain and Egypt.
Fig. 4. The number of
passengers served in regular and charter traffic at the Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport in 2016-2019
Source: author’s research
based on data presented in [11]
In
Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport, cargo is
also transported (Figure 5). The location of the cargo terminal with an area of
Fig. 5. The cargo transport at Katowice Pyrzowice
International Airport in 2016-2019
Source: author’s
research based on data presented in [11]
2.3. Mikołaja Kopernika
International Airport in Wrocław
The M. Kopernika International Airport in Wrocław
handles regular and charter flights, the number of which is growing annually
(Figure 6). Until 2015, this airport was the base for EuroLot.
Furthermore, it has been the 47th base for Ryanair since 2012.
On the
other hand, cargo transport in M. Kopernika
International Airport in Wrocław is performed in
the terminal, where there are, among others, domestic warehouse, customs
warehouse, bonded warehouse, cold store, radioactive material storage room, and
ramps. In addition, this terminal offers the possibility of high storage and is
equipped with other specialised devices, including
devices installed at the request of cooperating companies. In Figure 7, data on
the volume of cargo transport at the M. Kopernika
International Airport in Wrocław in 2016-2019
are presented. This airport is the loading and unloading base of the US AIR
Force.
Fig. 6. The number of passengers served in regular and
charter traffic in M. Kopernika International Airport
in Wrocław in 2016-2019
Source: author’s
research based on data presented in [24]
Fig. 7. Cargo transport at M. Kopernika International Airport in Wrocław
in 2016-2019
Source: author’s research
based on the data presented in [25]
3. PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AIR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
IN POLAND
The National Strategy for Sustainable Transport Development in Poland
until 2030 [6], presents the plans for the construction of the Central
Communication Port (CCP), which is the most important
infrastructure investment over the last century in Poland. The transfer airport
is to be located between Warsaw and Łódź
in the central point of Poland and will be designed to integrate air, rail and
road kind of transport. Along with the investments in the construction of CCP, the development of road and rail infrastructure is
planned, which will allow the largest Polish cities to be connected with the CCP up to a maximum of 2.5 hours of driving. The CCP is will be built on an area of
The central agglomeration in the capital city, the proximity of two
airports and the construction of the CCP would
contribute to the reorganisation of the air transport system in Poland and the
pursuit of imposing a transfer policy with a stop in Poland on numerous
airlines that are already operational in the Polish aviation sector. However,
due to the very distant and relatively difficult to implement tasks in the field
of infrastructural investments of this scale, focus on introducing ad hoc
solutions would rather be suggested. When planning activities in the field of
air transport in Poland, it should primarily be noted that the F. Chopin
International Airport in Warsaw should play the role of a small hub, at least
for the neighbouring countries of Poland and those
travelling from the Far East. The nearby Warsaw-Modlin
airport should be its indispensable supplement if it exceeds its real capacity.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Upward trends in the air transport market in Poland suggests that
investments in this kind of transport may bring real benefits in the form of
the country's economic growth. Moreover, the development of infrastructure and
investments in research and technological innovations in the air transport
sector may bring about a further reduction of costs of air transfers, favouring the popularisation of
this type of transport.
The low-cost airlines are a threat to the Polish air transport market,
especially to LOT Polish Airlines, which, due to their accelerated development
and faster modernisation of their air fleet, are
competing with LOT Polish Airlines in terms of service standards for popular
European routes. The existing share of LOT Polish Airlines in the broadly understood
aviation market has not significantly decreased. However, it should be noted
that the remaining part of the market is highly diversified; therefore, the
supply of services with similar characteristics is increasing. Hence, LOT
Polish Airlines must respond optimally to the threats and other elements,
directly and indirectly, influencing the situation in the aviation sector.
Technological solutions implemented in aircraft with increasing
efficiency are aimed at increasing the possibility of travelling on one fuel
tank, mainly by limiting its use. Moreover, the aim is to introduce aircraft
with higher transport capabilities, especially in the traffic of civil
passenger flights, where solutions of the Airbus model aircraft are becoming
the norm. Moreover, the efficiency of the operation of control towers, GPS
systems and other auxiliary tools in passenger flights has to be further
developed due to the increasing number of air traffic participants.
The statistical data cited in this paper indicates that the leading
airport in Poland in terms of the number of passengers handled is the F. Chopin
International Airport in Warsaw, which from year to year serves an increasing
number of passengers. According to the data provided by the Civil Aviation
Authority, the capacity of the F. Chopin International Airport in Warsaw is 20
million passengers per year, already in 2018, the number of passengers served
by the airport amounted to 17.7 million.
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Received 20.03.2021; accepted in revised form 02.06.2021
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