Kraków John Paul II International Airport

"Balice" redirects here. For other uses, see Balice (disambiguation).

John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice
IATA: KRK ICAO: EPKK
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	LHC/KRK Airport Services
Serves	Kraków
Location	Balice, Poland
Hub for	Eurolot LOT Polish Airlines
Elevation AMSL	241 m / 791 ft
Website	krakowairport.pl
Map
EPKK Location in Poland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,550 8,366 Concrete
Statistics (2012)
Passenger Volume 3,438,758 Aircraft Movements 39,355

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 of the city centre, in southern Poland.

History

The airport opened for civil aviation in 1964. The Balice airport was a military site until 28 February 1968. Four years later the first passenger terminal was built there. 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. In 1998 it was decided that Pope John Paul II would be the official patron of the airport. It was modernized once more in 2002, and since then new international connections have been established.

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 favorable 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, as well as 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 and had served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1963 until his elevation to the Papacy in 1978. 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 landing fees. 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.

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

A seven story parking garage opposite T1 became fully operational in May 2010.

On 12 December 2012, Irish low cost carrier Ryanair announced they would be opening their second Polish base in Krakow 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 Krakow to 31.

11 April 2013 saw the beginning of construction works of a new airport terminal, which would be adjacent to the existing old terminal building. The new terminal is planned to be finished in March 2015. The terminal will serve 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 will also be possible to handle transfer passengers irrespective of the routes (Schengen/Non-Schengen destinations). Apart from the main terminal building, other elements of the airport infrastructure are planned to be built or rebuilt, such as a new luggage handling system or a roofed footbridge connecting the terminal building and the nearby multi-level parking lot. As of September 2013, a new hotel is being built in the nearest area of the airport terminal.

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.

Airlines and destinations

EasyJet Airbus A319-100 in Kraków

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 in Kraków

{{Airport-dest-list |3rdcoltitle = Terminal | Aeroflot | Moscow–Sheremetyevo|1 | Air Berlin | Berlin–Tegel|1 | Alitalia | Rome–Fiumicino|1 | Austrian Airlines
operated by Tyrolean Airways | Vienna|1 | easyJet | Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London–Gatwick, London–Southend, Paris–Charles de Gaulle|1 | Eurolot | Amsterdam, Zurich, Gdańsk
Seasonal: [[Dubrovnik Airport|Dubrovnik], Split, Croatia |1, 2 | Finnair | Seasonal: Helsinki |1 | Germanwings | Seasonal: Stuttgart|1 | Jet2.com | Newcastle|1 | LOT Polish Airlines | Warsaw-Chopin|1, 2 | LOT Polish Airlines
operated by Eurolot| Warsaw-Chopin|1/2 | Lufthansa | Frankfurt|1 | Lufthansa Regional
operated by Eurowings | Düsseldorf (ends 6 January 2014) |1 | Lufthansa Regional
operated by Lufthansa CityLine | Munich |1 | Norwegian Air Shuttle| Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim|1 | Ryanair | Alicante, Beauvais, Bergamo, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Charleroi, Cork, Dortmund, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Girona, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London–Stansted, Madrid, Manchester, Moss, Palma de Mallorca, Rome–Ciampino, Shannon (resumes 3 April 2014), Stockholm–Skavsta
Seasonal: Cagliari, Kos, Málaga, Malta, Paphos, Pisa, Trapani|1 | Vueling | Barcelona|1 }}

Statistics

Check-in area of Terminal 1

International terminal at Kraków

Top 20 destinations (2012)

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	United Kingdom, London	370,053	easyJet, Ryanair
2	Poland, Warsaw	291,552	LOT Polish Airlines
3	Germany, Munich	220,245	Lufthansa
4	Germany, Frankfurt	194,864	LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa
5	Norway, Oslo	185,749	Norwegian, Ryanair
6	France, Paris	183,393	easyJet, LOT Polish Airlines, Ryanair
7	Ireland, Dublin	163,838	Aer Lingus, Ryanair
8	United Kingdom, Edinburgh	117,811	easyJet, Ryanair
9	United Kingdom, Liverpool	117,528	easyJet, Ryanair
10	Italy, Bergamo	110,110	Ryanair
11	Poland, Gdańsk	94,627	Eurolot, OLT Express
12	Austria, Vienna	90,422	Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines
13	Belgium, Brussels	83,400	Brussels Airlines, Ryanair
14	United Kingdom, Bristol	82,275	easyJet
15	Italy, Rome	70,173	Ryanair
16	United Kingdom, Leeds	65,181	Ryanair
17	Germany, Berlin	63,097	Air Berlin
18	United Kingdom, East Midlands	49,750	Ryanair
19	Italy, Bologna	48,212	Ryanair
20	United Kingdom, Belfast	47,386	easyJet

Year	Passengers (Mio.)
2003	0.593
2004	0.841
2005	1.586
2006	2.367
2007	3.068
2008	2.923
2009	2.680
2010	2.863
2011	3.014
2012	3.439
2013	3.395 (30.11)

Ground transportation

"Balice Ekspres" train

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

By train

The "Balice Ekspres" operates between Kraków Główny (Main railway station) and the Kraków–Balice Airport railway station. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the city centre and costs 12 PLN. Passengers can get to the railway station on foot, or they can take a free shuttle bus which departs from a stop located in front of the main airport terminal.

By bus

Public buses link the airport day (lines 208 and 292) and night (line 902) with the main railway station in Kraków (Kraków Główny) and the central bus station (Kraków Główny RDA). Normal city tariffs apply (2 zones) thus making it by far the cheapest public transport connection to the city centre, at 4.00 PLN. Public buses can be used after purchasing tickets from a ticket machine located at the bus stop (with cash or credit card) or from ticket machines that can be found in some of the buses (with coins only). All tickets have to be validated after getting on a bus.

It is also possible to use private-owned bus and minibus services connecting the airport with the city center or other cities in Poland. Tickets require bookings in advance.

Runway

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

Incidents

On 28 August 2007, a Ryanair flight from Shannon suffered a bird strike on its final approach and blew its front tires 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.

External links

• Airport website Template:En icon Template:Pl icon
• John Paul II International Airport, Krakow, Poland