The Krakow airport is the largest after Warsaw’s Okecie. According to forecasts, it will handle more than 11 million passengers by the end of the year. The airport currently offers more than 160 connections to 40 countries annually, and future investment plans include expansion of the passenger terminal and construction of a runway
Dynamic development of regional airports in Poland
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union. Since then, the share of regional airports in the aviation market has increased from 31 percent in 2004 to 63 percent in 2024, illustrating their growing role in domestic and international air transport. In 2023, the number of passengers served at Polish airports will exceed 50 million for the first time in history, reaching 52 million. This year, the result is forecast to be more than 57 million passengers served at all airports, surpassing the baseline assumptions of the forecast prepared at the beginning of the year for the Civil Aviation Authority.
I feel great satisfaction about such dynamic development of Polish regional airports. They are breaking new records. 10 million in Krakow, 4 million in Wroclaw, over a million in Rzeszow. This is crucial for generating sufficiently large passenger traffic, which is necessary in the context of the construction and future operation of the Central Transport Port,” said Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak.
According to analyses by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), connecting and regional airports perform different but complementary functions. Therefore, after the construction of a new national airport, regional airports will continue to play an important role in Poland’s economic and transportation system.
Transport performance shows that the domestic aviation sector is growing rapidly, and Polish passengers are increasingly eager to take advantage of air travel opportunities. An example is the aforementioned airport in Wrocław, which celebrated the check-in of its 4-millionth passenger a few days ago, a new record. In the first nine months of this year, the airport checked in 17 percent more passengers than in the same period in 2023 and 26 percent more than in 2019, while Rzeszow-Jasionka Ulm Family Airport surpassed one million passengers in November, up 11 percent from 2023 and 47 percent from 2019.
Source: PAP MediaRoom
