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Warsaw Chopin Airport

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For the airport near the town of Warsaw, New York, United States, see Perry-Warsaw Airport.
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport

Port Lotniczy im. Fryderyka Chopina
Summary
Airport typecivil, military
OperatorPolish Airports State Enterprise (PPL)
ServesWarsaw
LocationOkęcie district of Warsaw
Elevation AMSL110 m / 362 ft
Coordinates52°09′57″N 020°58′02″E / 52.16583°N 20.96722°E / 52.16583; 20.96722
Websitewww.lotnisko-chopina.pl
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 2,800 9,186 Asphalt
15/33 3,689 12,106 Asphalt
Statistics (2007 [1])
Passengers9,268,551
Passenger growth 06-07+14.4%
Departure hall of Terminal 1
Sculptured head of Frédéric Chopin installed on a monument base in front of Terminal 1. Zofia Wolska (2001)
Terminal 2 façade
Baggage claim area, Terminal 2
Terminal 2 departures
Etiuda Terminal façade
Cargo Terminal

Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (Polish: Port Lotniczy im. Fryderyka Chopina) (IATA: WAW, ICAO: EPWA) is an international airport located in the Okęcie district of Warsaw, Poland. Formerly Okęcie International Airport, it is named after the famous Polish composer and former Warsaw resident, Frédéric Chopin. It is Poland's busiest airport, handling just under 50% of the country's air passenger traffic.[1]

The former name, lotnisko Okęcie (Okęcie airport), remains in common use, including air traffic and aerodrome references.

Warsaw Airport handles approximately 100 scheduled flights daily and an ever rising number of charters. London, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam are the busiest international connections, while Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk are the most popular domestic ones.[2]

History

In 1924, when urban development around Warsaw's aerodrome at Pole Mokotowskie began affecting air traffic, the Ministry of Railways purchased land near the village of Okęcie to construct a new airport. In 1933, The Central Airport (Okęcie) took over the handling of all traffic from the Pole Mokotowskie. During World War II, Okęcie was often used as a battleground between the German army and Polish resistance and was practically destroyed. After liberation, LOT Polish Airlines resumed operations at Okęcie, using pre-war infrastructure. In 1956, maintenance of Okęcie was transferred from LOT Polish Airlines to state administration. In 1969 a new international terminal was built to handle 1 million passengers annually. Meanwhile, domestic flights continued to operate from the facilities built on the site of the pre-war terminal. In 1992, a new Terminal, with capacity for an annual 3.5 million passengers, was built to replace the aging post-war terminal. In March 2001, Warsaw Airport was renamed in honour of the Polish pianist Frederic Chopin (though this name is almost never used in practice, and most users know the place simply as Okęcie). Since the end of March 2007, the overcrowded Etiuda Terminal has been used for departing passengers on low-cost carriers. Constructed at the end of the 1990s, the terminal was expected to handle 3.5 million passengers per year, but in 2006 handled roughly 6.8 million [3].

Statistics

Passenger traffic growth 1995-2007, from the airport's official webpage:[4]

  • 1995 - 2,735,469
  • 1996 - 3,090,321
  • 1997 - 3,484,452
  • 1998 - 3,815,624
  • 1999 - 3,997,531
  • 2000 - 4,325,814
  • 2001 - 4,713,655
  • 2002 - 4,936,835
  • 2003 - 5,166,991
  • 2004 - 6,085,111
  • 2005 - 7,071,881
  • 2006 - 8,101,827
  • 2007 - 9,268,551

Terminal 2

This terminal has been fully operational since March 12, 2008, two years after the originally planned opening date. The arrivals area was in operation since mid-2007 but problems with safety certification and disagreements between the airport and construction firm led to temporary work stoppages.

Terminal 3

Construction on Terminal 3 is due to begin in 2009, and completion is expected in 3 years. The Terminal is to be located on the opposite side of the airport from terminals 1, 2 and Etudia.

Future auxiliary airport at Modlin

Main article: Modlin Airport

The long awaited conversion of a former military airfield north of the city into Warsaw's second international airport for low-cost carriers is, as of May 2008, still awaiting government approval on environmental grounds, but due to proximity to bird migration routes and protected bird sanctuary wetlands, may be delayed or ultimately blocked. Modlin is also to service charter carriers and in some undefined future, cargo, but due to chronic delays in commencing needed construction, is not expected to become operational until 2011 at the earliest. Meanwhile other regional military airports at Sochaczew and Radom are being readied by their local governments and private investors to compete with Modlin for Warsaw-region low cost passenger traffic and cargo.

Ground transportation

Bus

Warsaw city centre can be reached by the bus lines: 175 and 188 during the day and N32 at night. There is also an additional line 148 that provides access to Ursynów (a southern part of Warsaw) and Praga (an eastern part of Warsaw). The fare is PLN 2.8 one-way for all the lines (day and night).

Train

A train station is located under Terminal 2 and a fast connection to the city centre (Warszawa Śródmieście station) is under construction. No definite date of completing the works has been established as of July 2008.


Scheduled airlines and destinations

Terminal 1 check-in area


Those scheduled airlines check-in at Terminal 1, but arrivals are handled at Terminal 2.

Terminal 2 check-in area

Etiuda Terminal

Low cost carriers (except Centralwings, Clickair, and Volare Airlines) use the Etiuda terminal for departures. It is smaller and its facilities are rudimentary, and accordingly, its airport taxes are lower. While flights depart from the Etiuda terminal, all arrivals are handled at Terminal 2

Cargo Terminal

Former Airlines and Destinations

Runways

Satellite picture

The airport has two intersecting runways, whose configuration and available taxiways under current rules permit 34 passenger operations (takeoffs or landings) per hour.[2]

Preferential runways

The following preferential runway system has been established for the airport:[5]

Arrivals:

  1. Runway 33
  2. Runway 11
  3. Runway 15
  4. Runway 29

Departures:

  1. Runway 29
  2. Runway 15
  3. Runway 33
  4. Runway 11

Between 20:00 and 04:00 hours (in winter: 21:00 and 05:00), Runway 15/33 is used, weather and technical considerations permitting.[5]

Accidents record

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Data from The Civil Aviation Office of Poland (Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego). Template:Pl icon
  2. ^ a b "Dokładnie 72 lata temu otwarto lotnisko Okęcie", www.tur-info.pl (information originally available from the official airport webpage), 6 June 2006. Link accessed 2008-05-07. Template:Pl icon
  3. ^ łup, Polska Agencja Prasowa, "Od czwartku Terminal 2 na Okęciu przejmie przyloty od Etiudy", (As of Thursday, Terminal 2 Shall Take Over Arrivals to Etiuda) Gazeta Wyborcza, Gospodarka section, 25 July 2007. Template:Pl icon
  4. ^ Official webpage for WAW/EPWA, Airport statistics. Link accessed 2008-05-07.
  5. ^ a b Boeing Company data sheet for noise policies at WAW/EPWA, Boeing.com, June 2007. Link accessed 2008-05-07.
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