2012 was a record year for Chopin Airport

Chopin Airport enjoyed its best year to date in 2012, with over 9.5 million passengers handled.

Despite a 3.3% year-on-year fall in December 2012 and less than 602,000 travellers served, the airport’s overall figures for 2012 show a 2.7% increase on 2011 and a 1.3% growth on the airport’s previous all-time high in 2008.

A total of 140,100 aircraft movements were recorded during 2012, 1.8% less than in 2011. International flights accounted for the largest share of traffic, with 8.069 million passengers served (down 2.4%). 1.518 million passengers were handled domestically (up 41.6%), another record-breaking result for the airport.

“This was definitely the best year in the history of Chopin Airport. Never before, even in 2008, had we had more passengers. And all this despite the opening of a new airport in Modlin in mid-July, which took over about 10% of Warsaw’s traffic, along with one of the biggest airlines,” said Michał Marzec, director of Chopin Airport.

The biggest airlines operating at Chopin Airport include LOT Polish Airlines (4.56 million passengers carried, up 9.9% on 2011), Wizz Air (684,000, down 33.3%), Lufthansa (530,000, down 3%), Enter Air (420,000, up 5.1%) and Air France (330,000, up 5.1%).

The most popular flight destinations in 2012 were London (a total of 594,000 passengers for all airports; down 20.9% on 2011), Paris (507,000 for all airports, down 1.2%), Frankfurt (440,000, up 16.5%), Gdańsk (405,000, up 60.7%) and Wrocław (356,000, up 63.3%).

1.3 million passengers (down 5.5%) were handled in charter traffic in 2012, with a total of over 9,000 flights performed by 87 airlines. The five biggest charter airlines were: Enter Air (420,000 passengers carried, up 5.1% on 2011), Travel Service (341,000, down 10.8%), Travel Service Polska (155,000; the airline did not operate in 2011); Flylal Charters Pl (141,000, up 198.4%) and OLT Express (95,000; the airline did not operate in 2011).

The most popular non-scheduled destinations included: Antalya (129,000, down 22.2%), Hurghada (123,000, up 11.4%), Sharm el-Sheikh (84,000, up 20%), Fuerteventura (68,000, down 8.7%) and Tel Aviv (58,000, up 28.8%).

17,800 passengers, i.e. 8,400 aircraft movements, were handled in general aviation traffic, with the most popular destinations being Gdańsk (1,302, up 52.5%), Moscow (1,073, up 195.6%) and Poznań (805, down 10.2%).

Most flights to/from Chopin Airport in 2012 were operated with Embraer 175, followed by Embraer 170, Airbus 320, Boeing 737-400 and Embraer 195 aircraft.

Key events in 2012 included:

• handling flights during UEFA Euro 2012, which generated extra passenger traffic of over 56,000;
• opening Warsaw Chopin Airport railway station and a railway link connecting the airport with the centre of Warsaw;
• the launch and subsequent bankruptcy of OLT Express, which carried nearly 300,000 passengers in Warsaw during the four months of its existence;
• closure and modernisation of the old part of Terminal A (due to be completed by the end of 2014);
• development of the Chopin Airport Strategy and Master Plan;
• welcoming the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner wearing the LOT Polish Airlines livery;
• the launch of a direct Doha-Warsaw route by Qatar Airways;
• taking over passenger and luggage screening, previously done by the Border Guard, by the airport operator.

“Handling passengers and teams during Euro 2012 games was undoubtedly the most important thing that happened to us last year. It was a huge challenge, but we managed without problems, showing that Chopin Airport can operate in extraordinary conditions and is well-prepared to handle even the most demanding tasks. We appreciate this experience, as it adds to our image of an efficient, modern airport, which will pay off in the future,” added director Michał Marzec.

The end of 2012 also saw an introduction of a new airport charges price list at Chopin Airport, offering a range of attractive discounts.

“The new price list encourages airlines to launch new services and increase frequencies on the existing routes. It emphasises the importance of boosting transit traffic through Warsaw. We hope it will improve the range of services available to our passengers and contribute to traffic growth at Chopin Airport,” said Michał Marzec.

According to independent website www.airportcharges.com, Chopin Airport offers the lower airport charges among all airports located in central European capital cities. Full text of the new airport charges and discounts is available at http://www.lotnisko-chopina.pl/en/business/aviation-services/charges/airport-charges.