Taking flight

Last year over 11 million passengers went through the doors of Polish airports, which means a growth of 30 percent year on year. The International Air Transport Association estimates that within the next four years Poland will become the fastest expanding air market in the world.

The expansion is due to Poland's membership of the EU followed by low-fare carriers' emergence onto the Polish market - the real boom started only a year ago and already companies such as Wizzair, Easyjet, Ryanair and Sky Europe are fighting with traditional airlines for space in the skies above Poland and Polish airports.

This time it is not just the capital that is benefiting from the market's development but also local airports. Rzeszów airport was visited by 93,000 passengers in 2005 and this year it is expected to host 240,000-300,000 people.

Kraków airport authorities expect that as many as two million passengers will start or end their journey in their port while the terminal was constructed for 1.5 million. Both airports are planning to expand their premises.

"Transport and telecommunications are essential to the development of a modern economy. By building a central airport Poland could become a hub for airport traffic in the EU but there is tough competition," said Krzysztof Kapisz, president of the Civil Aviation Office (CAO).

"Berlin is turning its three airports into one, Prague is planning to expand its airport infrastructure, Vienna already thinks of itself as a hub for the region, and Budapest airport has recently been sold to the British Airport Authority, which believes it has great potential in the region," he added.

According to a report by PMR, this year some zł.440 million will be invested in the expansion of Polish airports. PMR analysts estimate that the expansion of airports will trigger a development of roads, railways, offices and warehouses.