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Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport ( pl, Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy, formerly pl, Port Lotniczy Gdańsk-Rębiechowo, german: Flughafen Danzig Lech Walesa) is an international
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located northwest of
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, not far from the city centres of the Tricity
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
: Gdańsk (),
Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...
() and
Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
(). Since 2004 the airport has been named after
Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...
, the former Polish president. With around 5.4 million passengers served in 2019, it is the 3rd largest airport in Poland in terms of passenger traffic.


History


Early years (1910s–1950s)

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 The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
(nowadays Wrzeszcz district of Gdańsk). 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. In the next years the airport continued acquisitions of further areas which allowed it to expand and invest in modern infrastructure at that time. The technical development of Gdansk Wrzeszcz Airport (Danzig-Langfuhr Airport) was followed by the launching of regular routes to
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...
and other important cities of the region. The flights were already operated by numerous international aviation companies. The first Polish route was served between Gdańsk, Warsaw and
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
by Aerolloyd and it was started in September 1922. The company initially used Junkers F.13 aircraft on that daily route. This domestic service was the beginning of the company which later gradually became the
LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (corporation), S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of List of airlines by foundat ...
, which is still Poland's
national carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...
. A railway connection to Gdansk Wrzeszcz Airport was built in the 1920s. This was followed by new
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
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 less than 2 thousand passengers annually 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. 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. 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

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 Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...
. 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 airliner A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
s 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 it practically ceased to exist as a large
housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...
was built on its grounds. 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 (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 Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province ( Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. Th ...
, 29.45% by the city of Gdańsk, 1.14% by the city of
Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
, 0.35% by the city of
Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...
and 37.61% by Polish Airports State Enterprise. 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 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
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


Airside facilities

Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport has a single asphalt-concrete runway in the direction of 11/29. The runway is long and it is equipped with a modern ILS CAT IIIBGdańsk Airport with ILS CAT IIIB
allowing aircraft to land in foggy weather. The decision height established for the approach system in Gdańsk is , whereas the visibility minimum for pilots varies from to , 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 Wide area multilateration (WAM) is a cooperative aircraft surveillance technology based on the same ''time difference of arrival'' principle that is used on an airport surface. WAM is a technique where several ground receiving stations listen to si ...
system. 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 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
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

Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport has two passengers terminals (T1 and T2), of which only Terminal T2 is fully functional. Terminal T1 was built in 1993 and is currently being used for departures (passport control and boarding) to countries which are not part of
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
, mainly to Great Britain, Ireland and holiday destinations e.g. to Egypt. There are no check-in desks in Terminal T1 but passengers waiting for their flights can do the shopping at duty-free stores located close to the departure gates. The building is connected with the newer Terminal T2 with a bridge. The old building is planned to be torn down in the future when the new terminal is extended. 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. Since then, Terminal 1 has not been serving any arriving flights. The overall area of Terminal 2 amounts to approx. . The terminal 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, five
jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s 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 estimated at 7 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 General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
flights.


Future development

According to the airport authorities, Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport will be further developed in the next years. Plans include an installation of an even more modern landing system ILS CAT IIIb which will allow pilots to operate at very poor visibility caused by fog and bad weather. Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport will be the second airport in Poland, after Warsaw Chopin Airport, to have this facility. The existing terminal is also planned to be extended despite the fact that it is new and can easily handle the current passengers flows. A new concourse will be constructed exclusively for departing flights. When it is finished, the old terminal building serving Non-Schengen flights will be either demolished or rebuilt for other purposes which will not be directly aimed at passenger services. The construction of the new part of the terminal is planned to be finished in 2021. After the modernization and extension work, the new capacity of the Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport will be at the estimated level of 9 million passengers annually. Also, a completely new district of Gdansk is planned to be built directly next to the airport. It will be called Gdansk Airport City and it will consist mainly of new buildings with offices and services as well as hotels. The construction works are planned to begin in 2019. However, some facilities that will become a part of the Airport City in the future already exist. These include the Allcon Park offering office areas, as well as the first of the planned five buildings of BCB Business Park. The existing
Hampton by Hilton Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscal ...
hotel located opposite the airport terminal will also be part of the new Airport City district in Gdansk.


Airlines and destinations


Passenger


Cargo


Statistics


Traffic


Airlines


Ground transportation


Rail

Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (PKM, the 'Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway) connects Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport with Wrzeszcz,
Gdynia Główna railway station Gdynia Główna railway station ( Polish for ''Gdynia main station'') is the main railway station serving the city of Gdynia, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The station opened in 1921 and is located on the Nowa Wieś Wielka–Gdynia Port ...
and downtown Gdańsk. It connects to the Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity) the 'Fast Urban Railway' which provides further connections by frequent trains every 6 minutes to 30 minutes to 27 stations throughout the Tricity. As of October 2015, the tickets for the train to and from Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport can be purchased in ZTM as well as SKM ticket machines located at stations throughout the city. Tickets are also sold in the trains by the conductors and they should be in this case purchased immediately after getting on the train. Regular tickets to and from Gdańsk (City ticket) cost 3,50 PLN one way. Regular tickets to/from Gdynia (Tricity ticket) cost 6,50 PLN one way. It is possible to change trains and to get to other areas of Tricity. In this case, the ticket prices may vary depending on the final station of the journey.


Bus

As of January 2018, the following city bus lines connect the airport: *to Gdańsk-Centre, (Orunia Gościnna), Route 210 via Gdańsk-Morena, Gdańsk Main Railway Station, old city. *to Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, Route 110 to Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz railway station. *to Sopot, Route 122 to Sopot – Kamienny Potok railway station via Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz *night bus line N3 to Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz railway station and Gdańsk main railway station


See also

*
List of airports in Poland This is a list of airports in Poland, sorted by location, IATA and ICAO airport codes, passenger traffic and runway surface. Airports with commercial passenger service Source: Defunct passenger airports Airports that served commercial passenger ...
* Air ambulances in Poland


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport Airports in Poland Buildings and structures in Gdańsk Transport in Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airports established in 1974 1974 establishments in Poland