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 movements51,704 (2022)

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.

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

Early years

The constructio 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 developement, 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 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.[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

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. 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 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 an 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

Terminal

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

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

Airlines and destinations

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 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 Basel/Mulhouse, Bristol, Edinburgh, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Manchester, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Seasonal: Belfast–International[20]
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Antalya, Corfu, Heraklion
Eurowings Düsseldorf
Seasonal: Stuttgart
flydubai Dubai–International[21]
Finnair Helsinki
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya
Jet2.com Birmingham, East Midlands,[22] Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
KLM Amsterdam
LOT Polish Airlines Chicago–O'Hare,[23] Istanbul,[24] Olsztyn-Mazury,[25] Tel Aviv (suspended), Warsaw–Chopin
Seasonal: Bydgoszcz,[26] Newark,[27] Zielona Góra
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair Luxembourg[28]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim
Pegasus Airlines Ankara, Antalya
Ryanair Agadir, Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Belfast–International,[29] 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,[30] Naples, Newcastle upon Tyne, Palermo, Paphos, Pisa, Podgorica, Porto, Poznań,[31] Riga,[32] Rome–Ciampino, Sandefjord, Seville, Shannon, Stockholm–Arlanda, Szczecin, Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Tirana,[33] Toulouse,[31] Treviso, Valencia, Vienna
Seasonal: Ancona, Burgas, Chania, Corfu, Dortmund,[34] Dubrovnik (begins 2 April 2024),[35] Faro (begins 1 April 2024),[36] Fuerteventura,[37] Lamezia Terme, Lourdes,[38] Olsztyn-Mazury, Palma de Mallorca, Perugia,[38] Pescara, Prague,[34] Rhodes,[39] Rimini,[39] Santorini, Turin,[34] Varna,[40] Zadar
Sun d'Or Tel Aviv[41]
SunExpress Antalya
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Birmingham, Catania,[42] Eindhoven, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Leeds/Bradford,[43] London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon,[44] Málaga,[45] Milan–Malpensa, Nice, Oslo, Reykjavik–Keflavík,[42] Rome–Fiumicino, Stavanger, Stockholm–Skavsta,[42] Tel Aviv, Tirana,[46] Valencia[47]
Seasonal: Burgas,[44] Heraklion, Split

Statistics

Busiest Routes from Kraków Airport [48][49]
AirportPassengers 2019Passengers 2022
 Germany, Frankfurt (FRA)468,965281,393
 Poland, Warsaw-Chopin (WAW)385,425285,035
 United Kingdom, London-Stansted (STN)358,577294,503
 Germany, Munich (MUC)262,880203,875
 United Kingdom, London-Luton (LTN)254,087304,165
 Netherlands, Amsterdam (AMS)211,139157,255
 Norway, Oslo-Gardermoen (OSL)208,652191,987
 United Kingdom, Manchester (MAN)208,686125,220
 Ireland, Dublin (DUB)178,245159,395
 Netherlands, Eindhoven (EIN)174,342207,615
 United Kingdom, London-Gatwick (LGW)164,630123,985
 United Kingdom, Edinburgh (EDI)146,918121,255
 Ukraine, Kyiv-Boryspil (KBP)145,379
 Finland, Helsinki (HEL)145,25465,575
 France, Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)138,793134,320
 Denmark, Copenhagen (CPH)138,33295,730
 United Kingdom, Bristol (BRS)131,60583,510
 Norway, Sandefjord (TRF)130,549145,948
 Italy, Bergamo (BGY)127,652138,515
 Austria, Vienna (VIE)127,053147,678
 Israel, Tel Aviv (TLV)122,335125,634
 United Kingdom, London-Heathrow (LHR)112,08659,837
 United Kingdom, Liverpool (LPL)109,54274,581
 Belgium, Brussels-Charleroi (CRL)108,13992,326
 Sweden, Stockholm-Arlanda (ARN)106,195138,002
 United Kingdom, Birmingham (BHX)104,80395,668
 United Kingdom, Leeds Bradford (LBA)101,94075,820
 United Kingdom, Belfast-International (BFS)100,32017,771
 Poland, Gdańsk (GDN)97,921104,330
 Italy, Rome-Ciampino (CIA)97,472134,677
 Sweden, Stockholm-Skavsta (NYO)95,82944,673
 Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg (BER)89,697
 United Arab Emirates, Dubai (DXB)82,05376,731
 Germany, Düsseldorf (DUS)80,169
 Italy, Bari (BRI)76,132110,106
 Germany, Stuttgart (STR)70,866
 Germany, Dortmund (DTM)70,32456,614
 Italy, Naples (NAP)69,050
 Spain, Barcelona–El Prat (BCN)68,427144,867
 Spain, Alicante (ALC)66,28071,170
 Spain, Madrid–Barajas (MAD)62,91653,570
 Italy, Catania (CTA)62,14663,057
 France, Paris-Beauvais (BVA)61,23497,922
  Switzerland, Basel (BSL)60,885
  Switzerland, Zurich (ZRH)58,714
 United Kingdom, East Midlands (EMA)57,63747,222
 Belgium, Brussels-Zaventem (BRU)55,986
 Italy, Bologna (BLQ)54,74049,203
 Ukraine, Lviv (LWO)53,167
 Greece, Athens (ATH)52,260
 Sweden, Göteborg-Landvetter (GOT)51,557
 Norway, Trondheim (TRD)49,77322,935
 Norway, Bergen (BGO)48,94768,727
 Ukraine, Kyiv-Zhuliany (IEV)47,524
 Norway, Stavanger (SVG)45,57469,078
 Italy, Rome-Fiumicino (FCO)44,44676,052
 France, Lyon (LYS)44,324
 United Kingdom, Glasgow-International (GLA)40,35233,995
 United Kingdom, Doncaster Sheffield (DSA)39,34531,357
 Ireland, Shannon (SNN)38,17842,119
 United Kingdom, Bournemouth (BOH)37,70734,815
 Italy, Cagliari (CAG)36,70032,576
 United Kingdom, Newcastle (NCL)36,25656,594
 Italy, Venice-Treviso (TSF)35,13537,002
 Sweden, Malmö (MMX)33,419
 Germany, Nuremberg (NUE)27,13635,767
 Finland, Turku (TKU)26,592
 Bulgaria, Burgas (BOJ)25,37454,898
 Denmark, Billund (BLL)24,57374,416
 Italy, Pescara (PSR)21,713
 Italy, Lamezia Terme (SUF)20,634
 Italy, Rimini (RMI)20,38514,151
 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
 France, Lille (LIL)40,614
 Spain, Girona (GRO)36,09036,505
 Italy, Turin (TRN)29,180
 Italy, Ancona (AOI)21,962
Annual traffic [50]
YearPassenger CountPercent Change
2003593,214
2004841,123Increase 42%
20051,586,130Increase 89%
20062,367,257Increase 49%
20073,068,199Increase 30%
20082,923,961Decrease 5%
20092,680,322Decrease 8%
20102,863,996Increase 7%
20113,014,060Increase 5%
20123,439,758Increase 14%
20133,647,616Increase 6%
20143,817,792Increase 5%
20154,221,171Increase 11%
20164,983,645Increase 18%
20175,835,189Increase 17%
20186,769,369Increase 17%
20198,410,817Increase 24%
20202,592,972Decrease 69%
20213,072,074Increase 18%
20227,394,176Increase 140%
2023
Jan-Sep		7,088,137Increase 31%
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

Train at "Krakow Lotnisko" station

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

Train

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,[51] and further 20 minutes to Wieliczka (for Salt Mine).

Railway line 118
91 ↑ Medyka
Kraków Główny
Kraków Towarowy
Kraków Łobzów
junction Kraków Łobzów
Kraków Mydlniki
Kraków Młynówka
Kraków Zakliki
Kraków Olszanica
Kraków PKN Orlen
A 4
Kraków Lotnisko

Bus

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Kraków - Balice. 50 lat – 32 miliony pasażerów". interia.pl (in Polish). 28 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 "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. ↑ Stemski, Szymon (21 October 2022). "Kraków: easyJet zmienia siatkę połączeń". Pasazer.com (in Polish). Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Flydubai to begin flights to Krakow, Catania in 2018". 6 December 2017.
  22. ↑ "Jet2's new Xmas Market route for Winter from East Midlands Airport". Derbyshirelive. 23 November 2022 – via www.derbytelegraph.co.uk.
  23. ↑ Liu, Jim (19 October 2020). "PLL LOT zawieszą regularne połączenie Kraków-Chicago". routesonline.com.
  24. ↑ "Nie żartowali! Nowa trasa LOT do Stambułu. Ale nie z Katowic, tylko z Krakowa!".
  25. ↑ "LOT Polish Airlines is expanding its route network from the Olsztyn-Mazury airport". tanie-loty.com.pl. 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  26. ↑ "Nowe połączenie krajowe. Lot potrwa godzinę". 28 April 2023.
  27. ↑ "Pasazer.com: LOT poleci z Krakowa do Newark". Pasazer.com.
  28. ↑ "Pasazer.com: Luxair poleci z Krakowa do Luksemburga". Pasazer.com.
  29. ↑ Loga-Sowiński, Krzysztof (7 July 2022). "Pasazer.com: Ryanair poleci z Gdańska i Krakowa do Belfastu". Pasazer.com (in Polish). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  30. ↑ aerotelegraph.com - "New Ryanair summer routes from Memmingen" (German) 17 November 2022
  31. 1 2 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.
  32. ↑ "Investēs miljonus: "Ryanair" nāk klajā ar paziņojumu par vērienīgiem plāniem Rīgā". LA.LV.
  33. ↑ "17 nowych tras Ryanaira, w tym 2 z Polski! To zupełna nowość - do tego kraju jeszcze nie latali".
  34. 1 2 3 "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23".
  35. ↑ "EKSKLUZIVNO! Ryanair će Dubrovnik povezati sa 17 odredišta, prema Dublinu, Beču i Londonu će letjeti i zimi". 28 November 2023.
  36. ↑ "Ryanair wznawia hitową trasę z Polski! Znów polecimy do bajecznej Portugalii".
  37. ↑ "Ryanair".
  38. 1 2 "11 nowych tras Ryanaira z Polski! Kilka z nich to absolutne hity".
  39. 1 2 "2 nowe wakacyjne trasy Ryanaira z Polski! Jedna wraca po krótkiej przerwie".
  40. ↑ "Pasazer.com: Ryanair poleci z Krakowa nad Morze Czarne". Pasazer.com.
  41. ↑ "Sun d'Or Tentatively Schedules Krakow Dec 2023 Service Resumptions". AeroRoutes. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  42. 1 2 3 https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240102-w61q24cxld
  43. ↑ "5 nowych tras Wizz Aira z Polski! Wystartują już za miesiąc".
  44. 1 2 "Wizz Air apre nuove rotte. Heviz sul Lago Balaton e un nuovo scalo". 25 March 2022.
  45. ↑ "Wizz Air uruchamia nowe połączenia z Polski do Werony i Malagi". 3 November 2022.
  46. ↑ "Wizz Air Announces Ten New Routes from Albania".
  47. ↑ "Вісім нових рейсів Wizz Air із чотирьох аеропортів Польщі".
  48. ↑ "Eurostat Transport Database".
  49. ↑ "UK CAA Data and analysis".
  50. ↑ "Statystyki".
  51. ↑ "By train". Krakow Airport. Retrieved 2013-09-10.

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