Published: 3/27/1998

Polish regional airports are fast developing due to action taken by local authorities and also due to a dramatic increase in passenger flows. Poznan-Lawica reports 154,000 passengers and 250 tonnes of cargo were served by the airport last year (1997) and the airport is the fastest developing in Poland after Warsaw Okecie. The airport is connected with Dusseldorf, Leipzig and Dresden but is looking at London and Hanover, as well other destinations. It also aims to become an important charter airport, with LOT naming it one of two regional destinations, from which holiday flights are to be organised. Krakow-Balica reported 258,000 passengers and 1,050 tonnes of cargo were handled in 1997. The new terminal allows the easy handling of such flows, but it expects 400,000 by the year 2000, which may force new investments and infrastructure development earlier than was planned some five years ago. At the same time traffic in Poznan should reach 320,000 passengers - this is also doing very well. International operations are to be started by LOT and Eurolot, as well an expected rise in the number of foreign carriers. SAS is expecting to start daily services from Copenhagen to Wroclaw this spring. At the same time it plans to increase the number of services to Szczecin. Many dormant airports like Rzeszow-Jesionka, Zielona Gora-Babimost, Lodz and Kolobrzeg, are to be returned to operational status. Lodz has already opened a new terminal and currently serves charter flights. Some new points on the map are beginning to appear too. Biala Podlaska - currently a military airfield - will be converted into a mixed military/civilian airport, with a training base for military and civilian transport pilots, as well as a cargo airfield. Mielec wants to use its airstrip to welcome heavy cargo planes up to the size of the Il-76. Many local authorities recognise their airports and regional operations are important keys to regional development. Smaller ventures are also being kept. The Air Service of Modlin near Warsaw keeps its first FBO base in Poland. Private company, Aero-Service International, prepares Wilanow near Ketrzyn to be a training base and a holding area for visitors wanting to leave their planes while travelling in Poland; the first customers are expected later this spring. Some 800,000 PLN or $US220,000 have already been pumped into the project. The airfield at Lask might be converted for a mixture of military and civilian operations. The first civilian planes are expected to arrive at the end of 1998. Total conversion, including the creation of a civilian terminal, will be the most ambitious and will take up to ten years. This project has received support from local authorities and the Government in Warsaw. A similar programme is planned for Biala Podlaska, currently being used for the training of Air Force pilots, but the possibility of creating a mixed cilivian/military training centre, for passenger and cargo planes, is being reviewed.(MM) (AP398.2)

Article ID: 133