In the first three quarters of the last year, 15 airports in Poland served a total of over 40 million passengers. This equates to over 30% more than in the corresponding period in 2022. Just from the Chopin Airport in Warsaw alone, 14.1 million passengers used their services, a significant increase from the previous year where 10.7 million passengers were catered for. The Łódź Airport, though it is one of the least chosen in the group, recorded a year-on-year increase of more than 114%. The industry attributes these outcomes to factors such as the gradual recovery of traffic after the pandemic collapse and the expansion of the network of connections. Ukrainians also largely contributed to this surge. Experts predict that 2024 will also see growth, though not as much as the preceding year, with an average year-on-year increase of 10-15%.
During the three quarters of 2023, 15 Polish airports served 40.4 million passengers. In the same period in 2022, 31 million passengers were served. Notably, at that time, Warsaw-Radom Airport was not yet operational. Chopin Airport in Warsaw remains the leader, with 14.1 million passengers from January to September, a 31.7% increase from the first nine months of the previous year.
These significant year-on-year increases result from the recovery of traffic after the pandemic collapse. The lockdowns suspended and then gradually rebuilt air traffic, leading to more and more people using air connections. In 2023, passenger traffic at Chopin Airport almost completely returned to its pre-pandemic state in 2019, explains Piotr Rudzki, chief communications officer of Polish Airports, which includes Chopin Airport in Warsaw.
Also noting an increase in traffic is the John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice which served 7.1 million passengers. This produced a 30.5% increase from the previous year. Natalia Vince, press spokesperson for Kraków Airport, emphasizes that their priority after the pandemic was to rebuild a diverse and attractive network of direct connections to many places around the world. The airport gained popularity with tourists from the Arabian Peninsula. Krakow Airport also became a go-to for travelers from Ukraine, forced to travel from other countries due to war. Kraków Airport crossed the result of 2019 last November, and by December, it had over 9 million passengers, making it the first regional port in Poland to achieve this feat.
During the three quarters of 2023, Gdańsk-Rębiechowo Airport experienced a 31.1% year-on-year increase. It served 4.5 million passengers, an increase from the 3.4 million in the previous year. “It seems that after four quarters of 2023, Gdańsk Airport will have its record,” says Agnieszka Michajłow, press spokesperson for the Gdańsk airport, acknowledging that they expected the increase due to better accessibility and an increased desire to travel.
Another airport observing significant growth is Katowice Airport with a year-on-year increase of 27.4%. In the nine months of 2023, 4.5 million passengers were served, an increase on the 3.5 million in the previous year. Dr. Sarna adds that the resurgence of budget airlines and their bargain offers certainly had a big impact on increasing air traffic in the country.
Also experiencing an increase was Wrocław Airport, seeing a jump of 37.9%. Recently, 3 million people were served there compared to the previous year’s 2.2 million. “However, growth in the ‘leisure’ area, or passengers traveling for vacation purposes, exceeded our expectations,” comments Jarosław Sztucki, sales director at Wrocław Airport.
Statistics from Warsaw-Modlin Airport improved year-on-year by 9.7%. In the comparison for the past nine months, 2.6 million passengers were served. In the same period in 2022, it was 2.4 million. Meanwhile, Poznań-Ławica Airport saw an increase of 26.3%. From January to September 2023, it was used by 2.2 million people, while a year earlier it was 1.8 million.
Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport saw the most impressive growth year-on-year of 44.3%. Waldemar Mazgaj, press spokesman for Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, states that the war in Ukraine has significant relevance in our case. “For many neighbors in the east, we are now the nearest airport, so they use Jasionka when going on holiday or to work.”
The airport in Łódź had better year-on-year performance by 114.2%. Wioletta Gnacikowska, the airport’s press officer, says the growth of their statistics-results from the hard work done to develop connections and prepare attractive and diverse flight offers.
In the case of Olsztyn-Mazury Airport, there was a year-on-year increase of 31.3%. Radom Airport in Warsaw from April 27th, 2023 operated serving 85 thousand passengers until the end of September. Moreover, the airport in Zielona Góra-Babimost recorded a year-on-year increase of 28.9%.
According to Dr. Nikodem Sarna of Proxi.cloud, the increase in passengers at Polish airports comes as no surprise. After the pandemic, the traffic naturally had to rebuild, especially after Ukrainians fuelled this increase. However, many Ukrainians have left Poland, and this will likely affect the dynamics of increases. He estimates growth in 2024 will be on an average year-on-year level of about 10-15%.
