Poland's principle airport falls behind regional competitors

Published: 10/21/1999

Warsaw's Okecie airport is struggling to keep cope with the rise in passenger traffic as a result of the economic upswing in Poland's economy (www.concise.org 27th March 1999). Queues have become formidable and the international terminal, which is less than ten years old, is close to its 4m capacity. The only viable solution in the medium term is the construction of an adjoining terminal, but some forecasts suggest that volume growth could still outpace its completion. The pressure to decentralise is growing. Polish national carrier, Lot, has already started flying internationally from more regional airports. In the longer term, Poland may suffer as a result of this trend as other regional capitals are better placed to handle high levels of passenger traffic. Budapest's Ferihegy airport, for example, opened a new terminal in December 1998, raising its total annual capacity to 5.5m. Prague's Ruzyne Airport has a capacity of 6.4m, following the opening of a new terminal in 1997. In 1998, it handled some 4.8m passengers and this number is expected to increase by 4-5% in 1999. The airport is already planning the construction of a further terminal. In Warsaw, the Polish Airports State Enterprise, PPL, has yet to issue a tender for a new terminal, although this is expected to take place around the end of the year (www.concise.org 8th April 1999). Airport officials insist that it can still be completed by 2003. The new terminal is expected to boost capacity by an extra 7m and to cost some$300-$350m. PPL plans to finance the project via a combination of its own funds and Polish bank loans, although no details have been provided of the split, and no confirmation of whether the project might receive a government-backed guarantee. PPL is keen to involve the city of Warsaw in the road infrastructure, but this has not yet been finalised. Once completed, the new terminal should be sufficient for up to 20 years, according to PPL. However, as soon as it is operational, talks will commence on the building of a second airport, north of Warsaw, for use by 2020. Scepticism still prevails on PPL's construction plans and timetables. Meanwhile, check-in queues lengthen and short term solutions, such as the “probable” installation of more check-in counters, will do little to alleviate passenger inconvenience. Nevertheless, confidence in traffic growth has prompted Sweden's SAS Trading to agree a six month duty-free contract with the Polish Airport Authority, granting it exclusive rights to sell the leading international perfume and aftershave brands. SAS Trading plans to open three stores at Okecie Airport, causing protests from Polish company, Conin, one of the longest-operating retailers at Okecie. The move by SAS Trading follows the expansion of the duty-free zone to nearly 1,500 sq.m, and local market concern indicates that, after the ending of duty-free zones in the EU, the battle for the customer has moved to Central Europe.

Article ID: 988