What’s On The Horizon For: Polish Airports S.A.

At Routes Europe 2024, representatives from Polish Airports S.A. (PPL S.A.) outlined Poland’s growing transfer hub status and how the airports across the country are planning for growth.

PPL, a leading aviation infrastructure company in Poland, is instrumental in driving the country's air transport market. Among its resources is Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), the largest airport in Poland and the base of flag-carrier LOT Polish Airlines. This hub provides extensive international travel access and attracts airlines offering long-haul services.

WAW handled 18.5 million passengers in 2023 and is projected to exceed 2019 levels with 20.5 million passengers expected this year. This growth is supported by new routes, including LOT Polish Airlines' connection to Riyadh, which began on June 4 with 3X-weekly flights, and its inaugural flight to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 13. The airline also resumed daily direct flights to Athens in April and introduced flights to Oradea in June, marking its third Romanian destination.

“We are happy with the growing numbers of air traffic in Poland, particularly with Warsaw being the transfer hub. We would like to see more direct point-to-point destinations open to invite more visitors across Poland,” said Antoni Falkowski, the Polish ambassador to Denmark, speaking at Routes Europe 2024.

Alongside owning and managing Warsaw Radom Airport (RDO) and Zielona Góra Babimost Airport (IEG), PPL also holds shares in most regional Polish airports including Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Poznań, Rzeszów and Wrocław. PPL CEO Andrzej Iłków told Routes: “The main goal for us is to show the European community the plan for our future. We have a lot of airports in Poland and are inviting everyone to see our beautiful country.”

Exhibiting at Routes Europe 2024, PPL representatives highlighted the event as an excellent opportunity to promote Poland as a destination and exchange information with airlines to enhance the country’s air connectivity.