KATOWICE AIRPORT ASSISTANCE

History of Katowice International Airport

The current location of Katowice Airport was initially used by German soldiers. In 1940, the Luftwaffe began construction of an airbase in the meadows around Prowlike. The Germans built three stone and concrete airstrips, with runway lengths varying from 1,000 to 1,500 meters, all of which were around 50 meters wide. The airbase was used for the handling of military aircraft flying from the inner part of the German Reich, carrying supplies to troops on the Eastern Front.

In the final phase of World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered aircraft were tested here.

Following General Ernst Udet's (a Luftwaffe flying ace) death in 1941, the airfield was named Udetfeld. From 1945 to 1951, Soviet soldiers were stationed at the airbase. In the early 1950s, the Soviets handed the airbase over to the Polish Air Force. It was then used by the 39th Fighter Regiment, created on April 17, 1951. A new runway was built in 1964. Soon after, the airbase in Pyrzowice became host to its first-ever regular passenger traffic, when, on October 6, 1966, the first plane of LOT Polish Airlines took off for Warsaw. By the end of 1969, a small passenger terminal (550 m2) was built, along with a taxiway and an apron. This runway has since been replaced by a new adjacent one (3,200m), completed in May 2015.

In 1991, Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze (GTL) (English: Upper Silesian Aviation Group) was created. On March 27, 1993, the German carrier Lufthansa flew to Frankfurt Airport, thus inaugurating the first international service. Passenger Terminal B officially opened in 2007, followed by (arrivals only) Terminal C in 2015. Future plans include the construction of a completely new passenger terminal, a further expansion of the recently built cargo terminal, and a new railway connection. On October 3, 2018, the airport celebrated 4 million passengers traveling through Katowice in a single year.

Ground transportation from Katowice International Airport

By car: The airport is accessible to/from Katowice and other cities of the region like Częstochowa, Kraków, Opole, Gliwice, Kielce, Oświęcim, Tychy via Expressway S1, National Road 86, A4 motorway, National Road 94, National Road 78, and A1 motorway. The airport is also served by taxis, Uber, and taxi. The airport offers 3,922 parking spaces. There is also premium parking at Katowice International Airport. Car rentals are available.

By bus: Metroplasty is the public transport operator in this area. It operates lines to nearby cities.

AP goes directly to Katowice; it stops only at a few stops in Katowice (45 minutes to the main railway station). M11 is a slower bus to Katowice (70 min) via Sączów, Wojkowice, Siemianowice Śląskie. M14 to Gliwice via Tarnowskie Góry. M19 to Sosnowiec via Bdzin. M116 and M16 are direct buses to Gliwice via Piekary lskie, Bytom, and Zabrze (note: their number changes in Piekary lskie).

By rail: There is currently no passenger rail link to the airport, although construction of a new railway connection has begun recently, in 2021. There will be new railway routes from Siewierz and Tarnowskie Góry to Katowice International Airport. Both of the two connections currently being built will allow for either direct or indirect passenger traffic between Katowice's main railway station and the adjacent cities of the GZM (Silesian urban area) and serve the airport's passengers on a daily basis.

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