Kraków John Paul II International Airport

Kraków John Paul II International Airport (Polish: Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II since 4 September 2007; earlier in Polish: Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice) (IATA: KRK, ICAO: EPKK) is an international airport located near Kraków, in the village of Balice, 11 km (6.8 mi) west[2] of the city centre, in southern Poland.

Kraków John Paul II
International Airport

Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OperatorJohn Paul II Krakow-Balice International Airport Ltd.
ServesKraków
LocationBalice, Poland
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL241 m / 791 ft
Coordinates50°04′40″N 019°47′05″E / 50.07778°N 19.78472°E / 50.07778; 19.78472
Websitekrakowairport.pl
Map
EPKK is located in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
EPKK
EPKK
Location in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
EPKK is located in Poland
EPKK
EPKK
EPKK (Poland)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,550 8,366 Concrete
07L/25R (emergency) 2,550 8,366 Grass
Statistics (2023)
Passenger volume9,404,611 (2023)[1]
Aircraft movements71,258 (2023)

The airport is named after Pope John Paul II. It is the second-busiest airport of the country in terms of the volume of passengers served annually after Warsaw Chopin Airport. In 2023, it handled over 9.4 million passengers.[1]

History edit

Early years edit

The construction of the airport started in 1964 and opened for civil aviation in 1967.[3] The Balice airport was a military site until 28 February 1968. Four years later, the first passenger terminal was built there.

In the 1970s, the airport saw further development, which included increasing the length of the runway by 400 meters, the construction of taxiways, and the installation of high intensity runway lights.[3]

In 1988, the authorities decided to build a new terminal that was opened for public use in 1993. In 1995, the entire apron was modernized.[4]

In 1995, the airport's name was changed from Kraków–Balice Airport to John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice, to honor Pope John Paul II, who was born in relatively nearby Wadowice and had spent many years of his life in Kraków, including serving as Archbishop of Kraków from 1963 until his elevation to the Papacy in 1978.[4] For marketing reasons, the official name was further "streamlined" on 4 September 2007 as Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II.

Development since the 2000s edit

The airport was modernized once more in 2002, and since then new international connections have been established.

In 2003, when Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair became interested in starting a service from the John Paul II International Airport, the airport authorities refused to reduce the landing fees.[citation needed] In response, the regional authorities of Kraków and Lesser Poland Voivodeship decided to build a new airport near the existing one, using the infrastructure of the military airbase adjacent to the shared runway. Finally, an agreement was reached, and the existing airport was opened to Ryanair and other low-cost carriers such as Germanwings, EasyJet, and Centralwings.[citation needed]

On 1 March 2007, a separate domestic terminal (T2) was opened. At that time, plans were underway to begin the construction of a new terminal.

A seven-storey parking garage opposite T1 became fully operational in May 2010.[5]

On 12 December 2012, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair announced it would be opening its second Polish base in Kraków basing two Boeing 737-800 aircraft at the airport from 31 March 2013, which allows the carrier to increase the number of the routes from Kraków to 31.[6]

Kraków Airport is the second busiest airport in the country after Warsaw Chopin Airport. The airport has good growth prospects, as almost 8 million people live within 100 km (62 mi) of it.[7] The airport also has a favorable location on the network of existing and planned motorways in this region of Poland. In 2021, Ryanair announced a US$800 million investment plan into Kraków and its airport expected to bring more than 400 direct jobs for pilots, flight crews, and ground staff along with 3500 indirect jobs.[8]

In 2023, the airport handled over 9.4 million passengers becoming the first regional airport in Poland to pass the 9 million threshold in terms of the number of passengers served annually. It collaborated with 25 traditional and low-cost airlines offering 161 flight connections to 123 airports located in 113 cities in 35 countries.[1]

In 2024, the airport authorities announced a plan to build a new terminal for the airport due to the inadequate capacity of the terminal opened in 2016.[9]

Facilities edit

Terminal edit

11 April 2013 saw the beginning of construction works of a new airport terminal, which is adjacent to the existing old terminal building. The works on the new terminal were completed in December 2016. The terminal serves all-year-round, 24 hours a day, both domestic as well as international flights. The expected maximum capacity of the terminal is up to 8 million passengers handled in a year (over twice as much as the airport served in 2012). It is also possible to handle transfer passengers irrespective of the routes (Schengen/Non-Schengen destinations). The terminal has a new luggage handling system and a roofed footbridge connecting the terminal to a hotel, a multi-level parking lot and the railway station, with direct railway link to Kraków Główny by Koleje Małopolskie.[10]

Runway edit

The airport has one concrete runway, number 07/25, 2,550 m × 60 m (8,366 ft × 197 ft).

Airlines and destinations edit

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Kraków Airport:

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens[11][12]
airBaltic Vilnius (begins 3 May 2024)[13]
Air Arabia Seasonal: Sharjah (begins 29 June 2024)
Air Dolomiti Munich[14]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[15]
Air Serbia Belgrade[16]
Austrian Airlines Vienna
British Airways London–Heathrow[17]
Brussels Airlines Brussels (begins 31 March 2024)[18]
Buzz Seasonal charter: Antalya, Burgas, Palma de Mallorca, Tirana, Varna, Zakynthos
Cyprus Airways Seasonal: Larnaca (begins 1 July 2024)[19]
easyJet Amsterdam (begins 2 September 2024),[20] Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–International,[21] Bristol, Edinburgh, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Manchester, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Antalya, Corfu, Heraklion
Eurowings Düsseldorf
Seasonal: Stuttgart
flydubai Dubai–International[22]
Finnair Helsinki
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya
Jet2.com Birmingham, East Midlands,[23] Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
Seasonal: Belfast–International (begins 29 November 2024),[citation needed] Liverpool (begins 29 November 2024)[citation needed]
KLM Amsterdam
LOT Polish Airlines Chicago–O'Hare,[24] Istanbul,[25] Olsztyn-Mazury,[26] Tel Aviv (suspended), Warsaw–Chopin
Seasonal: Bydgoszcz,[27] Newark,[28] Zielona Góra
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair Luxembourg[29]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim
Pegasus Airlines Ankara, Antalya
Ryanair Agadir, Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Belfast–International,[30] Bergamo, Berlin, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cagliari, Catania, Charleroi, Copenhagen, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Gdańsk, Girona, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Leeds/Bradford, Lille, Lisbon, Liverpool, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Manchester, Marseille, Memmingen,[31] Naples, Newcastle upon Tyne, Palermo, Paphos, Pisa, Podgorica, Porto, Poznań,[32] Riga,[33] Rome–Ciampino, Sandefjord, Seville, Shannon, Stockholm–Arlanda, Szczecin, Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Tirana,[34] Toulouse,[32] Treviso, Valencia, Vienna
Seasonal: Ancona, Burgas, Chania, Corfu, Dortmund,[35] Dubrovnik (begins 2 April 2024),[36] Faro (begins 1 April 2024),[37] Fuerteventura,[38] Lamezia Terme, Lourdes,[39] Olbia (begins 1 May 2024),[40] Palma de Mallorca, Perugia,[39] Pescara, Prague,[35] Rhodes,[41] Rimini,[41] Santorini, Trieste (begins 1 April 2024), Turin,[35] Varna,[42] Zadar
Sun d'Or Tel Aviv[43]
SunExpress Antalya
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Birmingham (ends 29 March 2024),[44] Catania,[45] Eindhoven, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Leeds/Bradford (ends 30 March 2024),[44][46] London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon,[47] Málaga,[48] Milan–Malpensa, Nice, Oslo, Reykjavik–Keflavík,[45] Rome–Fiumicino, Stavanger, Tel Aviv,[49] Tirana,[50]
Seasonal: Burgas,[47] Heraklion, Split

Statistics edit

Busiest Routes from Kraków Airport [51][52]
Airport Passengers 2019 Passengers 2022 Passengers 2023
  Germany, Frankfurt (FRA) 468,965 281,393
  Poland, Warsaw-Chopin (WAW) 385,425 285,035
  United Kingdom, London-Stansted (STN) 358,577 294,503
  Germany, Munich (MUC) 262,880 203,875
  United Kingdom, London-Luton (LTN) 254,087 304,165
  Netherlands, Amsterdam (AMS) 211,139 157,682 200,938
  Norway, Oslo-Gardermoen (OSL) 208,652 191,987 281,881
  United Kingdom, Manchester (MAN) 208,686 125,220
  Ireland, Dublin (DUB) 178,245 159,395
  Netherlands, Eindhoven (EIN) 174,342 207,615 194,466
  United Kingdom, London-Gatwick (LGW) 164,630 123,985
  United Kingdom, Edinburgh (EDI) 146,918 121,255
  Ukraine, Kyiv-Boryspil (KBP) 145,379
  Finland, Helsinki (HEL) 145,254 65,575
  France, Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) 138,793 134,320
  Denmark, Copenhagen (CPH) 138,332 95,730
  United Kingdom, Bristol (BRS) 131,605 83,510
  Norway, Sandefjord (TRF) 130,549 145,948 156,295
  Italy, Bergamo (BGY) 127,652 138,515
  Austria, Vienna (VIE) 127,053 147,678
  Israel, Tel Aviv (TLV) 122,335 125,634
  United Kingdom, London-Heathrow (LHR) 112,086 59,837
  United Kingdom, Liverpool (LPL) 109,542 74,581
  Belgium, Brussels-Charleroi (CRL) 108,139 92,326
  Sweden, Stockholm-Arlanda (ARN) 106,195 138,002
  United Kingdom, Birmingham (BHX) 104,803 95,668
  United Kingdom, Leeds Bradford (LBA) 101,940 75,820
  United Kingdom, Belfast-International (BFS) 100,320 17,771
  Poland, Gdańsk (GDN) 97,921 104,330
  Italy, Rome-Ciampino (CIA) 97,472 134,677
  Sweden, Stockholm-Skavsta (NYO) 95,829 44,673
  Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg (BER) 89,697
  United Arab Emirates, Dubai (DXB) 82,053 76,731
  Germany, Düsseldorf (DUS) 80,169
  Italy, Bari (BRI) 76,132 110,106
  Germany, Stuttgart (STR) 70,866
  Germany, Dortmund (DTM) 70,324 56,614
  Italy, Naples (NAP) 69,050
  Spain, Barcelona–El Prat (BCN) 68,427 144,867
  Spain, Alicante (ALC) 66,280 71,170
  Spain, Madrid–Barajas (MAD) 62,916 53,570
  Italy, Catania (CTA) 62,146 63,057
  France, Paris-Beauvais (BVA) 61,234 97,922
   Switzerland, Basel (BSL) 60,885
   Switzerland, Zurich (ZRH) 58,714
  United Kingdom, East Midlands (EMA) 57,637 47,222
  Belgium, Brussels-Zaventem (BRU) 55,986
  Italy, Bologna (BLQ) 54,740 49,203
  Ukraine, Lviv (LWO) 53,167
  Greece, Athens (ATH) 52,260
  Sweden, Göteborg-Landvetter (GOT) 51,557
  Norway, Trondheim (TRD) 49,773 22,935 37,725
  Norway, Bergen (BGO) 48,947 68,727 48,620
  Ukraine, Kyiv-Zhuliany (IEV) 47,524
  Norway, Stavanger (SVG) 45,574 69,078 79,983
  Italy, Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) 44,446 76,052
  France, Lyon (LYS) 44,324
  United Kingdom, Glasgow-International (GLA) 40,352 33,995
  United Kingdom, Doncaster Sheffield (DSA) 39,345 31,357
  Ireland, Shannon (SNN) 38,178 42,119
  United Kingdom, Bournemouth (BOH) 37,707 34,815
  Italy, Cagliari (CAG) 36,700 32,576
  Cyprus, Paphos (PFO) 36,458 34,896 51,563
  United Kingdom, Newcastle (NCL) 36,256 56,594
  Italy, Venice-Treviso (TSF) 35,135 37,002
  Sweden, Malmö (MMX) 33,419
  Germany, Nuremberg (NUE) 27,136 35,767
  Finland, Turku (TKU) 26,592
  Bulgaria, Burgas (BOJ) 25,374 54,898
  Denmark, Billund (BLL) 24,573 74,416
  Italy, Pescara (PSR) 21,713
  Italy, Lamezia Terme (SUF) 20,634
  Italy, Rimini (RMI) 20,385 14,151
  Croatia, Zadar (ZAD) 20,374 31,626 39,455
  France, Lourdes (LDE) 19,663
  Italy, Milan-Malpensa (MXP) 66,830
  Turkey, Antalya (AYT) 61,615
  United States, Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) 53,514
  Czechia, Prague (PRG) 52,026
  Hungary, Budapest (BUD) 50,215
  Greece, Thessaloniki (SKG) 45,362
  Poland, Szczecin (SZZ) 43,168
  Italy, Pisa (PSA) 42,278
  France, Marseille (MRS) 41,099
  Malta, Malta (MLA) 40,084 53,120
  France, Lille (LIL) 40,614
  Spain, Girona (GRO) 36,090 36,505
  Italy, Turin (TRN) 29,180
  Italy, Ancona (AOI) 21,962
  Cyprus, Larnaca (LCA) 65,956
  Iceland, Reykjavík-Keflavík (KEF) 43,969
  Croatia, Split (SPU) 27,887
Annual traffic [53]
Year Passenger Count Percent Change
2003 593,214
2004 841,123   42%
2005 1,586,130   89%
2006 2,367,257   49%
2007 3,068,199   30%
2008 2,923,961   5%
2009 2,680,322   8%
2010 2,863,996   7%
2011 3,014,060   5%
2012 3,439,758   14%
2013 3,647,616   6%
2014 3,817,792   5%
2015 4,221,171   11%
2016 4,983,645   18%
2017 5,835,189   17%
2018 6,769,369   17%
2019 8,410,817   24%
2020 2,592,972   69%
2021 3,072,074   18%
2022 7,394,176   140%
2023 9,404,611   27%


Annual passenger traffic at KRK airport. See Wikidata query.

It was the 63rd busiest airport in Europe in 2019 and had the greatest increase in passengers in all of Europe in 2019 with a 24.2% passenger increase in 2019 compared to 2018.

Ground transportation edit

 
Train at "Krakow Lotnisko" station

In addition to road access by private car or taxi, other options are:

Train edit

The SKA1 suburban line operates from the Airport to Kraków Główny (Main railway station) and further to Wieliczka. The service resumed in September 2015. It takes about 17 minutes to get to the city centre,[54] and further 20 minutes to Wieliczka (for Salt Mine).

Railway line 118
 
91 ↑ Medyka
 
 
Kraków Towarowy
 
 
junction Kraków Łobzów
 
 
 
 
 
Kraków PKN Orlen
 
  A 4
 
Kraków Lotnisko

Bus edit

Public buses link the airport during the day and during the night with the main railway and bus station in Kraków (Kraków Główny railway station) and the ICE Congress Centre.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Monthly Statistics Kraków Airport". polskieradio24.pl (in Polish). 9 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ^ "EAD Basic". Ead.eurocontrol.int. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  3. ^ a b "Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Kraków - Balice. 50 lat – 32 miliony pasażerów". interia.pl (in Polish). 28 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Historia spółki". krakowairport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Na lotnisku w Krakowie powstaje wielopoziomowy parking" (in Polish). www.2012.org.pl. 2009-12-18. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
  6. ^ "Ryanair announces its 53rd base – Krakow". centreforaviation.com. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Kraków Airport development plan to create 10,000 additional jobs". airport-business.com. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ Ajinka Gurav (26 April 2022). "Ryanair Announces $800m Investment into Krakow With New Routes". aviationsourcenews.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  9. ^ Maksymilian Tokarczyk (3 January 2024). "Będzie nowy terminal pasażerski na krakowskim lotnisku. "Przed nami wiele miesięcy prac budowlanych"". eska.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Lotnisko Kraków: Symbolicznie zakończyła się rozbudowa i modernizacja terminalu pasażerskiego". infolotnicze.pl (in Polish). 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  11. ^ Hubert Choroszewski. "Nowa trasa z Krakowa! Polecimy linią Aegean do Aten!" (in Polish). fly4free.pl. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  12. ^ Piotr Golianek. "Kraków: Aegean tylko latem" (in Polish). pasazer.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  13. ^ Dolande, Rainer Nieves (29 August 2023). "airBaltic launches 11 new routes for the summer season 2024". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  14. ^ "AIR DOLOMITI ASSUMES ADDITIONAL LUFTHANSA MUNICH SERVICE IN 2Q23". 13 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Air France wylądował w #KrakowAirport". krakow airport. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Air Serbia to launch New Service to Krakow, Ohrid and Varna for Summer 2023". 16 December 2022.
  17. ^ Piotr Bożyk. "British Airways powraca do Krakowa" (in Polish). pasazer.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Brussels Airlines wraca do Krakowa". 7 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Cyprus Airways | Cyprus Airways Flight Schedule".
  20. ^ https://www.goedkoopvliegenclub.nl/
  21. ^ https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/easyjet-krakow-holidays-go-year-round-from-belfast
  22. ^ "Flydubai to begin flights to Krakow, Catania in 2018". 6 December 2017.
  23. ^ "Jet2's new Xmas Market route for Winter from East Midlands Airport". Derbyshirelive. 23 November 2022 – via www.derbytelegraph.co.uk.
  24. ^ Liu, Jim (19 October 2020). "PLL LOT zawieszą regularne połączenie Kraków-Chicago". routesonline.com.
  25. ^ "Nie żartowali! Nowa trasa LOT do Stambułu. Ale nie z Katowic, tylko z Krakowa!".
  26. ^ "LOT Polish Airlines is expanding its route network from the Olsztyn-Mazury airport". tanie-loty.com.pl. 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  27. ^ "Nowe połączenie krajowe. Lot potrwa godzinę". 28 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Pasazer.com: LOT poleci z Krakowa do Newark". Pasazer.com.
  29. ^ "Pasazer.com: Luxair poleci z Krakowa do Luksemburga". Pasazer.com.
  30. ^ Loga-Sowiński, Krzysztof (7 July 2022). "Pasazer.com: Ryanair poleci z Gdańska i Krakowa do Belfastu". Pasazer.com (in Polish). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  31. ^ aerotelegraph.com - "New Ryanair summer routes from Memmingen" (German) 17 November 2022
  32. ^ a b Dybiński, Rafał (8 June 2022). "Nowe połączenia Ryanaira z Polski. Zimą loty z Krakowa do Poznania (aktualizacja)". www.rynek-lotniczy.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Investēs miljonus: "Ryanair" nāk klajā ar paziņojumu par vērienīgiem plāniem Rīgā". LA.LV.
  34. ^ "17 nowych tras Ryanaira, w tym 2 z Polski! To zupełna nowość - do tego kraju jeszcze nie latali".
  35. ^ a b c "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23".
  36. ^ "EKSKLUZIVNO! Ryanair će Dubrovnik povezati sa 17 odredišta, prema Dublinu, Beču i Londonu će letjeti i zimi". 28 November 2023.
  37. ^ "Ryanair wznawia hitową trasę z Polski! Znów polecimy do bajecznej Portugalii".
  38. ^ "Ryanair".
  39. ^ a b "11 nowych tras Ryanaira z Polski! Kilka z nich to absolutne hity".
  40. ^ "Ryanair per la prima volta a Olbia, 10 collegamenti estivi - Notizie - Ansa.it". 31 January 2024.
  41. ^ a b "2 nowe wakacyjne trasy Ryanaira z Polski! Jedna wraca po krótkiej przerwie".
  42. ^ "Pasazer.com: Ryanair poleci z Krakowa nad Morze Czarne". Pasazer.com.
  43. ^ "Sun d'Or Tentatively Schedules Krakow Dec 2023 Service Resumptions". AeroRoutes. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  44. ^ a b "Wizz Air ruší řadu spojů | Airways.cz".
  45. ^ a b "Wizz Air 1Q24 Routes Suspension Summary – 31DEC23".
  46. ^ "5 nowych tras Wizz Aira z Polski! Wystartują już za miesiąc".
  47. ^ a b "Wizz Air apre nuove rotte. Heviz sul Lago Balaton e un nuovo scalo". 25 March 2022.
  48. ^ "Wizz Air uruchamia nowe połączenia z Polski do Werony i Malagi". 3 November 2022.
  49. ^ "Wizz Air Flights to Operate Again between Budapest and Tel Aviv". Hungary Today. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  50. ^ "Wizz Air Announces Ten New Routes from Albania".
  51. ^ "Eurostat Transport Database".
  52. ^ "UK CAA Data and analysis".
  53. ^ "Statystyki".
  54. ^ "By train". Krakow Airport. Retrieved 2013-09-10.

External links edit

  Media related to John Paul II Airport in Balice-Kraków at Wikimedia Commons