Wrocław Airport
Copernicus Airport Wrocław Port Lotniczy Wrocław im. Mikołaja Kopernika | |||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Wrocław Airport Company | ||||||||||
| Location | Wrocław | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 404 ft / 123 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°06′09″N 16°53′09″E / 51.10250°N 16.88583°E | ||||||||||
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Copernicus Airport Wrocław (Template:Lang-pl) (IATA: WRO, ICAO: EPWR) is an international commercial airport in Wrocław in southwestern Poland. The airport is located 10 km southwest of the city centre. It has one runway, one passenger terminal (with separate domestic and international sections) and one cargo terminal.
The airport is served by 7 airlines.
History
The airport was built in 1938 for German military purposes before World War II. It was operated briefly by Soviet forces following the war before being used for civilian purposes in 1945. Services were operated to Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań and Katowice. By 1992 destinations also included Cracow, Rzeszów, Gdańsk, Szczecin and Koszalin.
'Port Lotniczy Wrocław S. A.' was established as a company in January 1992 and Wrocław airport assets operated by the state owned Polish Airports authority were transferred to the company in January 1993.
The first international flights were inaugurated in January 1993, serving Frankfurt, Germany. Significant airport improvements have been completed in recent years. A new international departures terminal was opened in May 1997 followed by a new domestic terminal in November 1998. A Cargo terminal, international arrivals hall, and installation of a new meteorological system were completed in 1999; new fire station and apron extensions in 2000; new air traffic control tower and duty free area in 2001.
On December 6 2005 the airport was renamed after the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (in Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik). The airport's new name is Copernicus Airport Wrocław (Port Lotniczy Wrocław im. Mikołaja Kopernika). Terminal extensions were officially opened on the same day, increasing the airport's capacity to 750,000 passengers per year. This capacity has already been exceeded by several hundred thousand. In the first 9 months of 2007 the airport served 972,505 passengers. Accordingly, work is underway to expand the existing terminal space by 1900 m², which will not only alleviate some of the congestion, but more importantly, make the terminal facilities conform to the requirements of the Schengen Agreement, which was implemented at Poland's airports on 31 March 2008.
Development plans
On 19 July 2006 the architectural firm JSK was chosen to design a significant airport expansion. This includes plans for a new passenger terminal (eventually, after several stages of expansion, the airport is to handle 7 mln passengers yearly), a runway extension to 3000 m, and assorted taxiway, apron and navigation equipment improvements. Moreover, car parking will be expanded to 1000 spaces, and a conference centre with a hotel will be built on site. The first stage, increasing the passenger capacity to 2 mln yearly, is expected to wrap up by 2010.
Airport facilities
Terminals
The airport operates modern domestic, international and cargo terminals. The international terminal contains a duty free area in the international departures hall. The cargo terminal, located beside the fire station and air traffic control tower, west of the passenger terminals, has a storage area of 3300 m², a bonded warehouse, freezer and radioactive materials warehouse.
Airlines and destinations
- Cimber Air (Copenhagen)
- Centralwings (Rome-Ciampino)
- LOT Polish Airlines (Brussels, Warsaw)
- LOT Polish Airlines operated by EuroLOT (Frankfurt, Munich, Warsaw)
- Lufthansa
- Lufthansa Regional operated by Air Dolomiti (Munich)
- Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways (Munich)
- Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine (Frankfurt)
- Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings (Düsseldorf)
- Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo)
- Ryanair (Bournemouth, Bristol, Brussels-Charleroi [begins 27 October 2008], Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh [begins 25 September], Girona, Glasgow-Prestwick, Hahn [seasonal], Liverpool, London-Stansted, Shannon, Weeze, Stockholm-Skavsta [begins 28 October] )
- Scandinavian Airlines System
- operated by Cimber Air (Copenhagen)
- Volare Airlines (Milan-Malpensa)
- Wizz Air (Doncaster/Sheffield, Dortmund, London-Luton)