Katowice Airport
Katowice Airport (Polish: Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Katowice) (IATA: KTW, ICAO: EPKT) is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, 30 km (19 mi) north of Katowice, Poland. The airport has the fourth-biggest passenger flow in Poland. It is also the second biggest airport in the country in terms of cargo traffic. It operates a variety of charter, regular and cargo flights.
Katowice Airport Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Katowice | |||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||
Operator | GTL Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze (Upper Silesian Aviation Group) | ||||||||||||
Serves | |||||||||||||
Location | Pyrzowice, Poland | ||||||||||||
Focus city for | |||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 304 m / 997 ft | ||||||||||||
Coordinates | 50°28′27″N 019°04′48″E | ||||||||||||
Website | katowice-airport.com | ||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||
KTW Location of airport in Silesian Voivodeship KTW KTW (Poland) | |||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||
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Statistics (2019) | |||||||||||||
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History
Early years
The current location of Katowice Airport was initially used by German soldiers. In 1940, the Luftwaffe began construction of an airbase in the meadows around Pyrzowice. The Germans built three stone and concrete airstrips, with runway lengths varying from 1,000 to 1,500 meters, all of which around 50 meters wide. The airbase was used for handling of military aircraft flying from the inner part of the German Reich, carrying supplies to troops on the Eastern Front.
In the final phase of World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered aircraft were tested here. Following General Ernst Udet's (a Luftwaffe flying ace) death in 1941, the airfield was named Udetfeld.
From 1945 to 1951, Soviet soldiers were stationed at the airbase. In the early 1950s, the Soviets handed the airbase over to the Polish Air Force. It was then used by the 39th Fighter Regiment, created on 17 April 1951.
A new runway was built in 1964. Soon after, the airbase Pyrzowice became host to its first-ever regular passenger traffic, when on 6 October 1966, the first plane of LOT Polish Airlines took off for Warsaw. By the end of 1969, a small passenger terminal was built (550 m2), together with a taxiway and an apron.
This runway has since been replaced by a new adjacent one (3,200m), completed in May 2015.
Development since the 1990s
In 1991, Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze (GTL) (English: Upper Silesian Aviation Group) was created. On 27 March 1993, the German carrier Lufthansa flew to Frankfurt Airport, thus inaugurating the first international service.
Passenger Terminal B officially opened in 2007, followed by (arrivals only) Terminal C, in 2015.
Future plans include the construction of a completely new passenger terminal, a further expansion of the recently built cargo terminal, and a new railway connection.[7]
On 3 October 2018, the airport celebrated 4 million passengers travelling through Katowice in a single year.[8]
Facilities
Terminals
The airport features three passenger terminals A, B (departures) and C (arrivals) as well as a cargo terminal. Operations at terminal B, much bigger than A, started on 30 July 2007. Terminals are capable of handling about 3.6 million passengers annually.[9] Terminal A handles all non-Schengen departure flights, while Terminal B handles all Schengen departure flights. The operation of the newest Terminal C building (arrivals) started on 27 June 2015. This terminal handles all arrival flights from non-Schengen and Schengen zones. The longest airport observation deck in Poland can be found inside Terminal B. New Terminal D is under planning such as new Cargo Terminal and Cargo City. New Terminal D will be equipped with jetways etc. There is a chance for Kiss&fly zone and VIP Terminal in the future.[10]
Runway and apron
The airport's concrete runway is 3200m by 45m, oriented 9 and 27, and can accommodate aircraft as large as Boeing 747 or Boeing 777, albeit not at MTOW.[11] Heavy transports such as Antonov An-124[12] or An-225[13][14] have been noted to land there on occasions. The airport uses new generation Instrument Landing System, a Thales 420 system.[15] The runway at Katowice Airport is the second longest runway in Poland, behind Warsaw Chopin's runway 15/33. 33 new aircraft stands are under construction as of now. They will be located between taxiways E (Echo) and H (Hotel), to the west from main apron, between main and cargo apron and to the east from cargo apron.
The airport has two plane spotter stands, one at the western end of the airport's runway. The platforms are free to access.[16]
Air traffic control tower
The new ATC tower has been already built. It is the tallest ATC in Poland and in Eastern Europe, at 46 meters height.[17]
Hotel
A "Moxy by Marriott" hotel has been built recently, and is now ready to accept guests. It is located right next to the main parking entrance (P1), very close to the terminals. A direct bridge connection to the terminals is also planned.[18]
Car parks
There are three main car parks at Katowice International Airport. P1, P2 and P3. P1 is the nearest parking connected direct with terminals. P2 is located to the east to P1. P3 is next to P2 and it is a guarded car park. There is a lot of private car parks next to the airport.[19] The airport offers 3922 own parking spaces.[20] There is also Premium Parking at Katowice International Airport. P1 will be expanded to 1842 parking spaces by January 2019. It will be expanded to the west.[21]
Maintenance
At the airport are two main maintenance buildings. The first serves mainly Wizzair's aircraft, and the modern one belongs to Linetech and serving all other airlines.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Katowice:
Cargo
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
ASL Airlines Belgium | Liège[51] |
ASL Airlines Ireland | Cologne/Bonn,[52] Leipzig/Halle,[53] Paris-Charles de Gaulle,[52] Stuttgart[52] |
Bluebird Nordic | Leipzig/Halle,[53] Liège,[52] Timișoara,[52] Warsaw-Chopin[52] |
Cargoair | Leipzig/Halle,[52] Liège,[52] Venice[54][55] |
DHL Aviation | Leipzig/Halle[53] |
Farnair Europe | Cologne/Bonn[52] |
FedEx Express | Timișoara,[56] Warsaw-Chopin[56] |
UPS Airlines | Cologne/Bonn[55] |
West Atlantic | Cologne/Bonn,[57] Leipzig/Halle,[52] Oslo-Gardermoen[52][58] |
Statistics
Passenger figures
Year[59][60] | Passengers | Air operations | Cargo (tonnes) |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | |||
1997 | |||
1998 | |||
1999 | |||
2000 | |||
2001 | |||
2002 | |||
2003 | |||
2004 | |||
2005 | |||
2006 | |||
2007 | |||
2008 | |||
2009 | |||
2010 | |||
2011 | |||
2012 | |||
2013 | |||
2014 | |||
2015 | |||
2016 | |||
2017 | |||
2018 |
The most frequent scheduled routes
Rank | Airport | Scheduled flights per week | Airlines |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 | Ryanair (11), Wizz Air (18) | |
2 | 28 | LOT Polish Airlines (28) | |
3 | 21 | Lufthansa (21) | |
4 | 17 | Wizz Air (17) | |
5 | 13 | Ryanair (6), Wizz Air (7) | |
6 | 9 | Ryanair (9) | |
7 | 7 | Lufthansa (7) | |
8 | 7 | Wizz Air (7) | |
9 | 7 | Ryanair (2), Wizz Air (5) | |
10 | 6 | Ryanair (3), Wizz Air (3) | |
11 | 6 | Ryanair (3), Wizz Air (3) | |
12 | 5 | Wizz Air (5) |
The busiest routes
Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | Top carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Wizz Air | ||
2 | Wizz Air | ||
3 | Corendon, Enter Air, Freebird, LOT Polish Airlines, Onur Air, Ryanair Sun, SmartWings, Smartwings Poland, SunExpress, Tailwind | ||
4 | Wizz Air | ||
5 | LOT Polish Airlines | ||
6 | Lufthansa | ||
7 | BH Air, Bulgaria Air, Bulgarian Air Charter, Enter Air, Ryanair Sun, SmartWings, Smartwings Poland, Wizz Air | ||
8 | Air Cairo, Enter Air, FlyEgypt, Smartwings Poland | ||
9 | Aegean Airlines, Ellinair, Enter Air, Ryanair Sun, SmartWings, Smartwings Poland | ||
10 | Aegean Airlines, Enter Air, Ryanair Sun, SmartWings, Smartwings Poland |
Ground transportation
By car
The airport is accessible to/from Katowice and other cities of the region like Częstochowa, Kraków, Opole, Gliwice, Kielce, Oświęcim, Tychy via Expressway S1, national road 86, A4 motorway, national road 94, national road 78 and A1 motorway. The airport is also served by taxis, Uber and iTaxi. The airport offers 3,922 parking spaces.[20] There is also premium parking at Katowice International Airport. Car rentals are available.[67]
By bus
- There are three bus lines (AP1, AP2, AP3) to Katowice Airport direct from Katowice, Tychy, Gliwice, Zabrze, Chorzów, Sosnowiec, Będzin, Piekary Śląskie, Siemianowice Śląskie or Mikołów.[68] Ride from airport to Katowice City Centre with this bus takes about 1H.[69][70][71]
- Flixbus connects Katowice International Airport with Katowice, Kraków, Częstochowa, Chorzów or Bytom.[72][73]
- Matuszek bus corporation connects Katowice Airport with Katowice city centre and Kraków city centre.[74]
- P-Air PyrzowiceEkspres.pl (official WizzAir's carrier) connects the airport with Kraków and Częstochowa.[74]
- Leo Express connects the airport with Ostrava, Rybnik, Gliwice and Bohumín direct from the airport.[74]
- Bus connections from other largest cities of the region, such as Kraków,[75] Częstochowa[76] and minibus - inter alia from/to Opole,[77][78] Wrocław[77][78] are also available. Local buses connect to the city of Bytom where one can change for bus to Katowice.
Bus stops are next to Terminal C and Terminal B. They are about 10 metres from the terminal entrance.
By rail
There is currently no passenger rail link to the airport but the building of a railway between Katowice and the airport is being planned. There will be new railways from Siewierz and Tarnowskie Góry to Katowice International Airport.[79]
Accidents and incidents
- On 27 October 2007, a Boeing 737-800 chartered by the UN destroyed dozens of approach and landing lights whilst making a low approach.[80] No passengers were injured, but the approach lights were out of service for three weeks.
- On 12 March 2013, Travel Service Flight 7137, a Boeing 737, overran the runway while landing in snowy weather just before 19:00, its nosewheel getting stuck approximately 3 feet deep into the soft ground 20 metres beyond the runway. None of the 176 passengers and 6 crew suffered any injuries, but the airport was closed until 17:00 the next day until the aircraft was recovered and taxied away.[81]
- On 5 July 2014 Lufthansa Flight 1360, operated by Lufthansa Cityline landed on the new runway, under construction then. No passengers ended up injured, and the aircraft later made a technical flight to land on the original runway, as the new runway still had not been joined by taxiways to the taxiway system.[82]
See also
References
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External links
- Official website (in English, German, French, Czech, Ukrainian, Polish, and Italian)
- Service Platform for the Katowice Airport passengers, co-financed by the European Union (in Polish)
- Current weather for EPKT at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for KTW at Aviation Safety Network