Military might
The flood of low-cost airlines looking to profit from Poland's skyrocketing air-travel market continues to rise, with two more economy carriers - Britain's Jet2 and Denmark's Sterling - announcing they will begin operations in the country.
Their enthusiasm should come as no surprise. Some 11.5 million passengers passed through Polish airports in 2005, a number that is expected to nearly double to 22 million by 2010 and balloon to 40 million in 2020.
Since many of the low-cost carriers prefer to fly to smaller local airports, city and regional governments look set to benefit the most. However, to cater for this massive explosion, the regions must rapidly expand their already overburdened air-transport infrastructure.
Politicians and industry experts agree that the easiest solution to this problem is the handing over of unused or obsolete military airports to local governments, to be converted into civil facilities. Numerous local governments, as well as companies that operate existing airports, have been pushing for a law that would facilitate this complicated process. Their efforts are now close to fruition.
Gdynia's new gate
A new agreement between the Ministries of Transport and Defense regarding the use of military airports for civil-aviation investments will add a number of new facilities to Poland's transport infrastructure. Gdynia's Babie Doły Navy airport could be first in line to capitalize on the agreement.
Gdynia is increasingly important as a transport hub for northern Poland. A new civil airport could complement the city's ferry terminal, bypass road network, and the last stages of the construction of Trasa Kwiatkowskiego, to make it one of Poland's most transport-friendly towns.
"We sent a signal to the Polish navy and the office of the Marshall of the Pomorskie voivodship last year, regarding the development of the Babie Doły airport," says Joanna Grajter, a spokesperson for Gdynia's City Hall. "It would add a second airport to our region, with infrastructure more suitable for budget airlines." This new airport would be managed by Rębiechowo-Porty Lotnicze (RPL), which currently runs Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa airport, more commonly known as Rębiechowo airport.
Representatives of low-cost carriers agree that locating a few airports close to each other might be beneficial for the market as a whole. "It is a healthy situation when a few airports serve a big agglomeration," said Tomasz Kułakowski, Ryanair's sales and marketing executive for Central Europe. "Competition in the air-transportation market does not target airlines only, but also airports. The more airports there are, the lower prices would be offered in order to encourage airline companies to use their services."
Representatives of other airports also agree that competition is something that can only benefit the aviation market. "Close to Kraków airport we have two international airports operating well - in Rzeszów and Katowice," said Piotr Pietrzak, a spokesperson for Kraków's Balice airport. "Both the airports are developing very well."
The money trail
In the case of Gdynia's navy airport, there are questions over its funding. RPL will manage the new facility. Ryanair's Kułakowski is worried that RPL will look to fund the new facility from Gdańsk airport's budget, and this could see costs raised at the Gdańsk facility.
However, RPL insists that although it will manage the new airport it may not be the new project's main investor. "Gdynia and the Polish Army could be the project's main investors," said Włodzimierz Machrzyński, CEO of RPL. "The army wants to make use of its already existing infrastructure. The submission of our offer [to enter the investment] was designed to show that an entity that is interested and knows how to operate the civil part of the airport actually exists."
According to Machrzyński, the new airport could be used for passenger transportation, cargo and freight services, as well as general aviation procedures, such as aircraft maintenance and repair.
Balice Airport in Kraków also has its eye on post-army property close to the existing airport. "The army has already indicated the areas that it does not need, and which could be used for the development of Balice Airport," says Pietrzak. Even though a final decision has not been made, nor any timetable established, the areas in question have been included in Balice Airport's general development plan. Pietrzak adds that the airport plans to use those areas to develop aircraft parking facilities and airplane taxi runways.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Transport, a draft law is being prepared that would allow the Defense Ministry to hand military airports over to local governments. This process would take place without using the Military Property Agency.
Seal of approval
The Economy Ministry recently released a statement saying it supported the idea of transferring properties from the army to local authorities, and agreed that this would be the best method for keeping up with the rapid development of Poland's civil-aviation sector. According to the proposal, such airports could be passed from the army to local governments free of charge. Local governments would be given three years to transform the areas into proper civil airports. The draft is scheduled to be discussed by the cabinet in October.
Authorities believe this law would give Poland's regions a new tool to bring in valuable investments and attract more business. Gdynia City Hall's Joanna Grajter also points out that existing business relations could be extended. In Gdynia specifically, she says, it could mean that passengers on ocean-going cruise liners, which bring more than 100,000 tourists to Gdynia every year, could be encouraged to make more use of their cruises' stopover. "Many of these tourists are willing to spend lots of money so they would not mind renting a small plane for a one-day trip, for example, to Kraków," she says.
