Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (Polish: Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy, formerly Polish: Port Lotniczy Gdańsk-Rębiechowo, German: Flughafen Danzig Lech Walesa) (IATA: GDN, ICAO: EPGD) is an international airport located 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest[1] of Gdańsk, Poland, not far from the city centres of the Tricity metropolitan area: Gdańsk (12 km (7.5 mi)), Sopot (10 km (6.2 mi)) and Gdynia (23 km (14 mi)). Since 2004 the airport has been named after Lech Wałęsa, the former Polish president. With around 6 million passengers served in 2023, it is the 3rd largest airport in Poland in terms of passenger traffic.
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy | |||||
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| Summary | |||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||
| Owner/Operator | Port Lotniczy Gdańsk Spółka z.o.o. | ||||
| Serves | Tricity, Poland | ||||
| Elevation AMSL | 149 m / 489 ft | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°22′39″N 018°27′58″E / 54.37750°N 18.46611°E | ||||
| Website | airport.gdansk.pl | ||||
| Map | |||||
GDN Location of airport in Poland | |||||
| Runways | |||||
| Statistics (2023) | |||||
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History edit
Early years (1910s–1950s) edit
The first passenger flights in Gdańsk were operated in the year 1919 from an airfield in the Langfuhr district of the Free City of Danzig (now the Wrzeszcz district of Gdańsk).[2] It was possible thanks to a transformation of that military location into a civilian facility. The airport was at that time additionally used for airmail services and by the police.[citation needed] In the next years, the airport continued acquisitions of further areas which allowed it to expand and invest in modern infrastructure. The technical development of Gdansk Wrzeszcz Airport (Danzig-Langfuhr Airport) was followed by the launching of regular routes to Warsaw, Berlin, Moscow, Königsberg and other important cities of the region. The flights were operated by numerous international aviation companies.
The first Polish route was served between Gdańsk, Warsaw and Lviv by Aerolloyd beginning in September 1922.[citation needed] The company initially used Junkers F.13 aircraft on that route. This domestic service was the beginning of the company which later became LOT Polish Airlines, which is still Poland's national carrier.
A railway connection to Gdansk Wrzeszcz Airport was built in the 1920s. This was followed by new tram tracks in 1930. The airport itself had a concrete runway which had light and navigation facilities allowing aircraft to land and to take off at night. In the 1930s, Gdansk Wrzeszcz Airport served fewer than 2 thousand passengers annually[citation needed], but it was an important international hub that connected four countries and provided transport facilities between Polish cities.
The airport in Wrzeszcz was an important base of the German air forces during World War II. Even before that, German pilots had been trained on the grounds of this airport. Heavy bombings and other military activities led to the destruction of the airport.[citation needed] However, it was reconstructed after the war and it was provided with modern technologies which allowed the airport to develop. Old domestic routes as well as many international destinations were relaunched. The airport had regular connections to countries like Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark and Sweden.
New location since 1970s edit
As the airport facilities became old and nonfunctional at the end of the 1960s (including runway lights which forced airport authorities to ban night flights), a new location near the village of Rębiechowo was chosen. The airport had to be built somewhere else also because of further urban development.[citation needed] New areas were needed in order to make it possible for the public investors to construct new buildings for the growing population of Gdańsk. Furthermore, a new longer runway was necessary in order to allow larger jet airliners to take off and land safely as the era of modern jet aircraft began. The old airport in Wrzeszcz was officially closed on 1 May 1974, and a large housing estate was built on its grounds.[citation needed] Nowadays, only a few remaining elements of the old Wrzeszcz airport infrastructure can be found, including remnants of its main north–south oriented runway in what is now the Zaspa district.
After the closure of the old airport, the new one was built, and it opened in 1974 near the village of Rębiechowo[2] (on westernmost land incorporated into the Gdańsk borough of Matarnia in 1973). The airport acquired its current name in 2004. There was some controversy as to whether the name should be spelled Lech Walesa (without diacritics, but better recognizable in the world) or Lech Wałęsa (with Polish letters, but difficult to write and pronounce for foreigners, the closest English phonetic approximation being "Vawensa").
Since 1993, Gdańsk Airport has been owned 31.45% by the authorities of Pomeranian Voivodeship, 29.45% by the city of Gdańsk, 1.14% by the city of Gdynia, 0.35% by the city of Sopot and 37.61% by Polish Airports State Enterprise.[citation needed] In 2006, the airport served for the first time in its history more than 1 million passengers per year. In 2010, the passenger number was higher than 2 million. After the construction of a new modern passenger terminal with extended capacities (the opening took place in April 2012 ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012 football championships), the airport continued its development and it served for the first time over 3 million passengers in a single year in 2014. In summer season 2015, airlines flying to and from the airport served over 50 regular routes as well as charter and cargo flights.
Airport infrastructure edit
Airside facilities edit
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport has a single asphalt-concrete runway in the direction of 11/29.[3] The runway is 2,800 m (9,200 ft) long and it is equipped with a modern ILS CAT IIIB[4] allowing aircraft to land in foggy weather. The decision height established for the approach system in Gdańsk is 30 m (98 ft), whereas the visibility minimum for pilots varies from 125 m (410 ft) to 300 m (980 ft), the higher value being required in the initial one-third of the runway's length. In addition, the navigation facilities at the airport are supplemented with a modern wide area multilateration system.[5]
The runway as well as taxiways are equipped with light aids system using LED technology. The lighting of the runway can be remotely controlled from the flight control tower. The runway has eight exit taxiways leading to five parking aprons where up to 18 middle-sized aircraft (e.g. Boeing 737 or Airbus 321) can be parked. The airport also has an extra apron used in winter for de-icing of aircraft. The deicing pad has been constructed in a way which allows keeping up ecological standards.
Passenger terminals edit
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport has two passengers terminals (T1 and T2), of which only Terminal T2 is currently in use. Terminal T1 was built in 1993. The building is connected with the newer Terminal T2 with a bridge. The old building is planned to be torn down in the future.
The new terminal, called Terminal T2, is a modern building with characteristic architectural elements, the roof imitating waves at sea being an example of them. It was constructed west of Terminal T1. The first part (departures only) was completed in 2012, and the arrival area started operations in September 2015.
Terminal 2 has a direct link to a railway station. It has 25 check-in desks, a highly modern luggage transport and sorting facility and a spacious departure area with gates. At the airport in Gdańsk, eight jet bridges are available for airlines to use. The terminal handled 3.3 million passengers in 2014 which was about 66% of its maximum capacity. However, after the completion of the new arrival area, the maximum capacity of the airport is now estimated at 9 million passengers per year. The terminal offers services such as tourist information, shops, kiosks, bars, currency exchange desks, different car rentals and an executive lounge. There is also a conference room and facilities for handling VIP passengers and general aviation flights.
Airlines and destinations edit
Passenger edit
Cargo edit
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| DHL Aviation[28] | Leipzig/Halle, Tallinn |
| FedEx Feeder[29] | Katowice, Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| UPS Airlines[30] | Berlin |
Statistics edit
Traffic edit
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Year | Passengers | Passengers Change | Cargo (t) | Flight operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 249,913 | 1,472 | 10,512 | |
| 2000 | 269,960 | 8.0% | 1,552 | 11,586 |
| 2001 | 319,174 | 18.2% | 1,953 | 14,052 |
| 2002 | 318,033 | 0.4% | 2,211 | 13,450 |
| 2003 | 365,036 | 14.8% | 2,686 | 14,346 |
| 2004 | 463,840 | 27.1% | 2,742 | 17,500 |
| 2005 | 677,946 | 46.2% | 3,433 | 19,000 |
| 2006 | 1,249,780 | 84.3% | 4,037 | 24,200 |
| 2007 | 1,708,739 | 36.7% | 4,757 | 28,200 |
| 2008 | 1,954,166 | 14.4% | 4,610 | 31,000 |
| 2009 | 1,890,925 | 3.2% | 4,067 | 30,000 |
| 2010 | 2,232,590 | 18.1% | 4,487 | 32,000 |
| 2011 | 2,483,000 | 11.2% | 4,943 | 34,360 |
| 2012 | 2,906,000 | 17.0% | 4,851 | 37,022 |
| 2013 | 2,843,737 | 2.1% | 4,918 | 42,041 |
| 2014 | 3,288,180 | 15.6% | 5,658 | 39,974 |
| 2015 | 3,706,108 | 12.7% | 5,162 | 40,261 |
| 2016 | 4,004,081 | 8.0% | 4,863 | 41,079 |
| 2017 | 4,611,714 | 15.0% | 5,500 | 43,422 |
| 2018 | 4,980,647 | 8.0% | 6,213 | 46,482 |
| 2019 | 5,376,120 | 7.9% | 6,887 | 48,882 |
| 2020 | 1,711,281 | 68.2% | 7,028 | 25,558 |
| 2021 | 2,154,563 | 25.9% | 9,171 | 29,298 |
| 2022 | 4,576,705 | 112.9% | 10,189 | 43,987 |
| 2023 | 5,907,280 | 22.5% | 11,483 | 49,502 |
Airlines edit
| Airline | Passengers (2023) | Passengers (2022) | Passengers (2021) | Passengers (2020) | Passengers (2019) | Passengers (2018) | Passengers (2017) | Passengers (2016) | Passengers (2015) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wizz Air | 2,337,023 | 1,658,135 | 797,797 | 813,244 | 2,460,163 | 2,259,969 | 2,037,832 | 1,862,137 | 1,772,840 |
| Ryanair | 2,144,934 | 1,733,101 | 702,598 | 442,698 | 1,262,600 | 1,194,672 | 1,312,084 | 1,026,016 | 820,590 |
| LOT Polish Airlines | 284,433 | 236,235 | 138,057 | 142,242 | 334,731 | 328,136 | 328,905 | 299,902 | 250,268 |
| Lufthansa | 219,806 | 176,990 | 80,103 | 63,976 | 267,812 | 273,326 | 246,301 | 270,349 | 277,245 |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | 164,857 | 139,947 | 125,561 | 74,955 | 151,220 | 120,231 | 47,826 | 0 | 0 |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | 146,823 | 112,303 | 28,784 | 32,162 | 154,303 | 123,874 | 86,668 | 79,986 | 73,829 |
| Scandinavian Airlines | 144,146 | 102,292 | 34,270 | 53,423 | 213,133 | 213,384 | 219,827 | 199,351 | 164,628 |
| Swiss International Air Lines | 19,349 | 10,223 | 10,310 | ? | 22,885 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eurowings | 14,415 | 14,191 | 6,656 | 5,196 | 6,518 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Finnair | 0 | 23,797 | 1,812 | 4,964 | 60,301 | 51,538 | 33,131 | 31,099 | 21,563 |
| Air Baltic | 0 | 0 | 0 | ? | 7,243 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| easyJet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,348 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | 17,891 | 15,239 | 69,156 | |
| Ukraine International Airlines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,310 | 0 |
Ground transportation edit
Rail edit
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (PKM, the 'Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway) connects Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport with Wrzeszcz, Gdynia Główna railway station and downtown Gdańsk. It connects to the Fast Urban Railway.[33]
Bus edit
The airport has bus connections with Gdańsk-Centre, [34] Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz railway station, Gdańsk-Łostowice and Sopot – Kamienny Potok railway station.[citation needed]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "EAD Basic - Error Page". www.ead.eurocontrol.int. from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ^ a b "Historia lotniska". Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (Press release). Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy.
- ^ "Droga startowa". Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (Press release). Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy.
- ^ . www.airport.gdansk.pl. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021.
- ^ "Pierwszy w Polsce system multilateracyjny uruchomiony w Gdańsku". Aviation24.pl (Press release). Aviation24.pl.
- ^ a b c d "Coral Travel". coraltravel.pl. from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ a b "Charter flights". tui.pl. from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ a b "Schedule of flights". grecos.pl. from the original on 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- ^ "Bilety czarterowe - tanie bilety lotnicze | Biuro podróży TUI". www.tui.pl. from the original on 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ "Direct (non-stop) flights from Gdansk to Dusseldorf". FlightsFrom.com. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "News | Finnair". from the original on 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ "Route map". lot.com. from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ "Latem znów polecimy z Rzeszowa do Gdańska". Pasazer (in Polish). 1 February 2023.
- ^ "Route map". norwegian.com. from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ a b "Takiego połączenia lotniczego z Gdańska jeszcze nie było". 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Ryanair NS24 Network Additions – 10DEC23".
- ^ a b c "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23".
- ^ a b c "Вісім нових рейсів Wizz Air із чотирьох аеропортів Польщі". from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ "Na narty i nad morze. Nowe połączenia Wizz Air z Polski". 3 November 2022. from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Wizz Air NS24 Network Additions".
- ^ "Wizz Air establishes operations at Stockholm Arlanda with two new direct routes". 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Wizz Air пуска нов летен маршрут от Бургас". from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ^ "WIZZ – Dream more. Live more. Be more". from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
- ^ "5 nowych tras Wizz Aira z Polski! Wystartują już za miesiąc". from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Wizz Air announces new route from Poland to Split". avioradar.hr. from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ "Wizz Air with new routes from Gdansk and Poznan to Albania". paszer. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Do Rzymu i Walencji z Wizz Air".
- ^ "Boeing 757 and Airbus A300 operating from Gdańsk – Gdańsk Airport website, PL". from the original on 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ "FedEx Express expands network in Europe, Middle East and Asia – Post & Parcel". 9 November 2012. from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- ^ "UPS opens a base in Gdańsk Airport, SprintAir handling the flights – Gdańsk Airport website, PL". from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ . Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (Press release). Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ Archived copy 2021-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "SKM Trójmiasto: Strona główna". www.skm.pkp.pl. from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- ^ Gdańsk, Silesia Transport na zlecenie ZTM. "ZTM Gdańsk » Rozkłady jazdy". ztm.gda.pl. from the original on 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
External links edit
Media related to Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in English and Polish)
- Current weather for EPGD at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for GDN at Aviation Safety Network