With indications suggesting that Katowice Airport will conclude this year with the best cargo traffic numbers in its history, Artur Tomasik, president of the board of the Upper Silesian Aviation Group (GTL S.A.), tells us why the continued expansion of cargo infrastructure at the airport is so important.

Located in the southern part of Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, Katowice Wojciech Korfanty International Airport (Katowice Airport) in Pyrzowice is one of the biggest regional airports in the country.

It serves Metropolis GZM (Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia) – one of the most industrialised and urbanised regions in Europe which is inhabited by 2.3 million people.

The airport’s catchment area covers not just southern Poland but also Czechia and Slovakia; an area inhabited by 14.3 million people.

Consequently, for many years, the Upper Silesian Aviation Group (Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. – GTL S.A.) – the company which manages Katowice Airport – has been carrying out several investment projects aimed at developing and diversifying the airport’s infrastructure.

In addition to three passenger terminals, Katowice Airport also has an MRO base which currently comprises three aircraft hangars used for complex aircraft maintenance, plus we have an advanced area dedicated to handling air cargo traffic.

As a result of the complex and consequent development of its infrastructure, Katowice Airport is multi-functional, thus attracting companies which specialise not only in handling passenger traffic, but also aircraft maintenance and air cargo.

Big investments

In early-February 2024, we presented our big 2024-2028 investment programme, and as part of this, the infrastructure at Katowice Airport will be considerably expanded. The programme covers nearly 20 investment projects amounting to a total of €350 million.

While the construction of a central passenger terminal is without a shadow of doubt the biggest investment, we also aim to strengthen other areas at the airport.

We are planning for the construction of a fourth aircraft maintenance hangar, and in June 2026 we will put into service a multimodal goods and fuel delivery hub which will have a railway siding connection. It is worth emphasising that construction of the hub is co-funded by the European Union (EU) as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2021-2027 Military Mobility in the amount of up to 50% of eligible costs.

Another significant part of our plan for 2024-2028 is the expansion of the cargo area.

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Continued cargo expansion

The airport’s first building used to handle freight covered 1,300 sqm and was placed into service on February 11, 1997. Its first user was DHL which remains very active at the airport to this day.

Relatively quickly, in autumn 1998, a new section was added to the terminal, thus increasing its surface to 3,200 sqm. Furthermore, in January 2002 yet another expansion concluded, boosting the cargo terminal to span an area of approximately 5,000 sqm.

Fast-forward to the present day, Katowice Airport currently has a modern 11,800 sqm cargo terminal which was put into service in May 2016.

The development of the first cargo terminal was due to the growing interest in southern Poland among foreign investors; it had a positive impact on the amount of handled freight.

Among Katowice Airport’s merits was its geographical location and the possibility to handle cargo flights at night; the airport was and remains open round-the-clock, which for cargo flights is very convenient for carriers and courier companies.

In response to growing traffic and demand for this kind of infrastructure, the cargo terminal was expanded, but the capacities of the building soon became limited due to the close proximity of the passenger terminals, which – due to the growth in the number of handled passengers – also had to be extended.

The harmonious handling of passenger traffic and cargo operations was becoming more and more demanding, which ultimately contributed towards the decision to establish an entirely new cargo area; in November 2014, we signed an agreement for the construction of a new cargo terminal, and the finished building – covering an area of 11,800 sqm – was placed into service on May 23, 2016. Upon opening, it was the most advanced building of its kind in Poland.

We have located the terminal in the south-eastern part of the airport, thus successfully separating all segments of traffic; cargo is handled approximately 2km away from the passenger terminals.

The new cargo area comprises not only the terminal, but also a dedicated aircraft apron which can hold up to 10 freighters.

Today, Katowice Airport is the biggest Polish regional airport in terms of commercial cargo traffic. The appeal of our airport derives not only from its modern and thought-out infrastructure, but also its favourable location; not far from Katowice Airport is the intersection of main European transport routes and the biggest motorway junction in Poland which links the A1 (north-south) and A4 (east-west) motorways.

Our cargo terminal handles freight for carriers including Amazon, DHL Express, FedEx, and Ups. A Lufthansa Cargo station for Poland is also available; it works in the RFS model.

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As a result of growing interest in air freight, cargo traffic numbers at Katowice Airport has been rising for several years. The best 12 months in our history was in 2022 when our cargo terminal handled a record-breaking more than 40,000 tonnes of freight.

According to our forecasts, 2024 may also be a hugely positive year; the first three months were record-breaking for us, and there are a lot of indications to suggest that we will conclude this year with the best result in the airport’s history.

As a result of positive and – importantly – stable cargo traffic conditions at Katowice Airport, we have planned further investment during 2024-2028 to expand the cargo base by at least one additional cargo terminal.

The finished building will cover an area of 10,000 sqm and will be located next to the existing infrastructure used for handling air cargo.

As a result, our cargo area will be capable of handling up to 75,000 tonnes of freight annually. I am certain that the expanded cargo ‘city’ will be attractive for current and potential partners of our airport, who – seeing our commitment, experience and desire to provide infrastructure of the highest quality – will wish to develop their activities at Katowice Airport.