John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice
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| John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II (formerly: Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków-Balice) |
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| Entrance to the international terminal (2009) | |||
| IATA: KRK – ICAO: EPKK | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public, military | ||
| Operator | MPL Balice | ||
| Serves | Kraków | ||
| Location | Balice | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 241 m / 791 ft | ||
| Coordinates | 50°04′40″N 019°47′05″E / 50.07778°N 19.78472°ECoordinates: 50°04′40″N 019°47′05″E / 50.07778°N 19.78472°E | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 07/25 | 2,550 | 8,366 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2007) | |||
| Passenger Volume | 3,042,351 (+29.60%) | ||
| Aircraft Movements | 34,900 (+20.71%) | ||
| Source: Polish AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] Statistics from Civil Aviation Office of Poland[2] |
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John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice (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[1] of the city centre, in southern Poland.
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[edit] History and present circumstances
The airport opened for civil aviation in 1964.
Kraków Airport is the second busiest airport in the country after Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport. The airport has good growth prospects, as almost 8 million people live within 100 km (62 mi) of it. The airport also has a favourable location on the network of existing and planned motorways in this region of Poland, but it faces stiff competition from the nearby Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice and other Polish airports.
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 spent many years of his life in Kraków. For marketing reasons, the official name was further "streamlined" on 4 September 2007 as Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II.
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 airport fee. 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 SkyEurope, Germanwings, EasyJet and Centralwings.
On 1 March 2007, a separate domestic terminal (T2) was opened. Plans are underway to begin construction of a terminal expansion adjacent to the existing International Terminal (T1).
[edit] Expansion plans
The main terminal building (T1) is currently being expanded to cater to the growth in passengers the airport has experienced in the last two years. The terminal is being extended towards the apron, with five jetways being added and separate facilities prepared for Schengen and non-Schengen passengers. The next phase involves the construction of a multi-storey car park opposite T1. It is also expected that the railway line will ultimately reach the terminal building, rather than the current temporary stop 250 m (820 ft) from terminal T1.
[edit] Getting there
In addition to road access by private car or taxi, other options are:
[edit] By train
- The "Balice Ekspres" operates between Kraków Główny (Main railway station) and the Kraków-Balice Airport railway station.
[edit] By bus
- Public buses the airport with the main railway station in Kraków (Kraków Główny) and the central bus station (Kraków Główny RDA).
[edit] Traffic
In 2005 there were more than 1.5 million passengers, a nearly 95% increase over 2004. In 2006 there were more than 2.3 million passengers, an increase of 50% over 2005. On December 20, 2007 the airport served its 3rd million passenger. This increase was partially due to the SkyEurope hub that was closed on October 28, 2007. Overall, Kraków Airport handled 15% of all passenger traffic in Poland in 2006. In 2008, the airport experienced a decrease in both aircraft operations (35 thousand, down from 37 thousand in 2007) and passenger traffic (2,92 million, down from 3,06 million in 2007), sparking public discussion about the policy of its management and the city of Krakow.[3][4] The most popular international destinations are London (Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton) and Dublin.
[edit] Runway
The airport has one concrete runway, number 07/25, 2550 x 60 m. Runway 07 is open for landing only between sunrise and sunset.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
The following airlines have scheduled services to Kraków (as of July 2009):
[edit] International Terminal 1
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Dublin |
| Air Berlin | Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf |
| Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways | Vienna |
| Brussels Airlines | Brussels |
| Czech Airlines | Prague |
| EasyJet | Belfast-International, Bristol, Dortmund, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Finnair | Helsinki [seasonal] |
| Germanwings | Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart |
| Iceland Express | Reykjavik |
| Jet2 | Leeds/Bradford |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Athens, Chicago-O'Hare, Frankfurt, New York-JFK [seasonal], Newark [seasonal], Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, Tel Aviv |
| LOT operated by EuroLOT | Vienna |
| Lufthansa | Munich |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways | Munich |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine | Frankfurt, Munich |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda |
| Ryanair | Birmingham, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow-Prestwick, Leeds/Bradford [begins March], Liverpool, London-Stansted, Milan-Orio al Serio, Oslo-Torp, Shannon [ends 26 March], Stockholm-Skavsta, Weeze |
| Sunexpress | Antalya |
| Transavia.com | Paris-Orly |
- AMC Airlines - Sharm el-Sheikh (seasonal)
- Lotus Air - Sharm el-Sheikh (seasonal)
- Sky Airlines - Antalya (seasonal)
[edit] Domestic Terminal 2
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Jet Air | Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Warsaw |
| LOT operated by EuroLOT | Warsaw |
[edit] Incidents
On 28 August 2007, a Ryanair flight from Shannon blew its front tyre during landing, resulting in an airport closure for a few hours and requiring an emergency evacuation of the aircraft. There were no injuries and the aircraft sustained no further damage.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Media related to John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice at Wikimedia Commons- Airport website (English) (Polish)
