Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport is located 12km away from the city of Gdansk in Poland. It was opened in 1974. It covers an area of 240ha and was named after the former president of Poland, Lech Wałesa, in 2004. It is operated by Port Lotniczy Gdańsk Spółka.
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The international airport provided service to more than 2.48 million passengers and recorded in excess of 34,360 aircraft movements in 2011. It also handled 4,943t of cargo during the same year.
New terminal for UEFA Euro 2012
Construction of a new terminal (T2) at the airport was started in February 2010, in order to accommodate the passengers arriving for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.
The construction was completed by February 2012 and the new terminal was opened to the public in April 2012.
The terminal cost PLN 247m ($71.38m), of which one-third of the investment came from the Cohesion Fund. The project included installation of ARINC’s vMUSE technology, which is a commonly-used passenger check-in and departure solution.
Master plan for the Polish airport
In June 2011, the master plan for the airport’s development was prepared by the PM Group in association with Gdansk Urban Planning Company Alter Polis. It forecast the expansion and modernisation of the airport by 2035.
The plan includes expanding the number of aircraft parking spaces from 19 to 32 in 2015 and to 44 in 2035. It also envisioned increasing the facilities at the airport to accommodate passenger traffic levels of 3.1 million by 2015, 4.3 million by 2020 and 9.1 million by 2035.
Terminal features at Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport
The airport currently has two passenger terminals, T1 and T2, which are linked by a connector. It has three overground floors and one underground floor. The total terminal floor area is 40,000 square metres, which includes 37,000 square metres usable floor area. The total cubature exceeds 350,000 cubic metres.
Terminal T1 has arrivals in the ground level and departures in the second level. Terminal T2 has the capacity to accommodate up to five million passengers in a year.
It has a large hall divided into two areas – the airside with baggage sorting facilities and the waiting area. It also has the landside with departures lounge, airline offices, concessions and service areas.
Passenger facilities at the terminals include 19 aircraft stands, a CONRAC departures information system, Honeywell fire-fighting system, a Gallet baggage handling system, Otis lifts and Dan-Poltherm air-conditioning system. It also features other facilities, such as banking services, currency express exchange office, shops, restaurants and an executive lounge.
Runways and ATC tower at Poland’s airport
Gdansk Lech Walesa airport has a single runway (11/29) which is 2,800m long and paved with asphalt and concrete.
The air traffic control (ATC) tower at the airport was constructed in 1999. It is located near the passenger terminals.
The general contracting and turnkey execution contract for the ATC tower was awarded to Mostostal Gdansk. It included construction of a 31m high control tower with an office building.
Maintenance facilities at IATA: GDN
Fixed-base operations (FBO) at the airport are provided by companies such as Euro Jet, Excel Handling, FCG OPS Centre and GDN Airport Services.
The airport has warehouse facilities with a space of 315 square metres which provide up to 3,000t in storage capacity. It also has a freighter dock, bonded warehouse and air-conditioned storage facilities.
Ground transportation at Gdansk Lech Walesa
Multiple ground transportation facilities are available to and from the airport. Gdańsk’s main railway station is located near the airport.
A 20km train line which connects Gdansk, Gdansk Airport and Gdynia was given the go ahead and is expected to be ready by December 2015.
ZKM Gdańsk operates public buses to and from the airport. Car rental companies located at the terminal include Hertz, National, Budget, Europcar and Avis.
The City Plus Taxi company provides the taxi services at the airport. Shuttle services are also available.
