It was a great year for the Gdansk Airport!

According to the preliminary data, only in December 2010 Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport handled 153,760 passengers, that is 6.6 % more than in December 2009.
Since January 1st 2010 the number of handled passengers was systematically growing and on 18 November 2010, for the first time in the Airport’s history, it reached the record-breaking number of 2 million passengers. 2,232,590 passengers were handled throughout 2010, which is a huge increase of as much as 16.8%! These growth dynamics in the number of handled passengers give the Gdansk Airport a reason to boast, compared to the rest of Poland, or even Europe!
Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport has also shown excellent results in terms of cargo transport. In 2010 4,487 tons were handled at the airport, which is an increase of 11.7% in comparison with the year 2009.

The past year, as the previous ones, was marked by investment projects. 94.2 M Polish zloty was expended until the end of 2010 on the realization of the investment program for the years 2009-2015. The projects completed so far included modernization of the airport power system, the purchase of a noise monitoring system and a state-of-the-art 8x8 drive fire rescue truck – the only such in Poland. The key projects include construction of the new passenger terminal (T2), the aircraft apron in front of the terminal, a taxiway, a rainwater drainage system, a technical patrol road, a technical base for the airport equipment and a de-icing station. Owing to the said investment projects, Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport will be able to handle 5 M passengers per year already from 2012 (at present the number is 2.5 M). The airport’s operating capacity per hour will increase from the present 12 to 30 aircraft operations (take-offs and landings in total).

“We are proud of such a high increase in the number of passengers handled in 2010. We owe this success above all to our passengers. All the time we urge the present and potential carriers to open new connections with Gdansk or expand the existing ones. Certainly, the use of even the most appealing marketing tools without the right level of travel demand from passengers will not attract airlines. The market situation in the Pomerania Region, however, shows the carriers that it is worthwhile expanding the network of connections from the Gdansk Airport, and as the Airport and as the Region – we are bound to succeed!” said Tomasz Kloskowski, CEO of Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport.

The growing passenger traffic also means the necessity to expand the airport infrastructure, which will not only increase the airport’s capacity but will also provide more travelling comfort. For this purpose, the largest investment program in the history of the Gdansk Airport has been in progress since 2009. Such large-scale investments require very high financial resources. Here we have our first reason to boast! Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport is the first and so far the only airport in Poland to have signed all agreements for requested subsidies under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme. The total amount of EU subsidies is as much as PLN 178.2 M!