Modlin 2013-10-09
Airport – Warsaw – Modlin Airport.
Geographic coordinates: 52.451N 20.651E.
This chapter is a supplement to the description of Modlin Airport from 2009, 2010, 2011. This happened due to the major changes that took place at Modlin Airport in the period 2009-2013.
Warsaw – Modlin Airport.
It must be honestly written that Modlin Airport was lucky. The airport did not share the fate of most post-military airports in the Republic of Poland and despite considerable difficulties, it is on the aviation map of the world. The reconstruction of the post-military Modlin Airport into a passenger (commercial) airport began in October 2010. The passenger terminal was launched on July 15, 2012.
A great advantage of Modlin Airport is its convenient location. Especially for residents from the north-eastern part of Poland, who do not have any passenger airport in their area. From the navigational point of view, the airport also has convenient approaches. The approaches largely bypass the Warsaw agglomeration. The airspace of the area is almost empty. The weather is a hindrance. Fog is frequent in this area. An important thing is the ability to offer airlines low operating costs. Even two times lower than at Okęcie Airport. An additional argument of Modlin Airport is conducting air operations 24 hours a day. Okęcie airport does not have such a possibility. The ability to fly around the clock allows air carriers to keep one aircraft in the air for up to 13 hours a day. And the plane only makes money by being in the air. A plane standing on the ground brings losses.
The airport is managed by Mazowiecki Port Lotniczy Warszawa-Modlin. Its shareholders are: the Military Property Agency, the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, the State Airports Enterprise and the City of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. The president of the airport is Mr. Piotr Okienczyc.
Construction of the Passenger Terminal.
One of the most important investments at Modlin Airport was the construction of a new Terminal. The passenger terminal was designed by APA Kuryłowicz & Associates. The design of the terminal was made by one of the most famous Polish architects, Mr. Stefan Kuryłowicz, who, interestingly, also developed the architectural concept for the planned Kielce-Obice airport. The facility in Modlin has over 12,000 m2 of space. It is divided into two zones: departures and arrivals. There are 21 check-in desks at the port, as well as security control, a commercial area and 4 gates. On the left side of the terminal is the arrivals hall with baggage claim belts and customs control. The terminal can handle around 2 million passengers a year. The terminal has; Customs Office, Border Guard, 5 food outlets, 6 shops. The first gastronomic point was the "Coffee Corner", open daily, from the first to the last passenger. The terminal was launched on July 15, 2012.
Renovation of the runway (RWY).
The renovation of RWY was another large project at Modlin Airport. The runway is 2,500 m long. Navigation devices and some of the most modern lights have been installed on it.
Platform slab.
On the apron there are 10 positions for B 737 or A 320 aircraft, and additionally 3 stands for de-icing machines.
Other objects.
A new tower for traffic controllers. The port has 1,400 parking spaces for cars. Transport on the route from the Airport to the center of Warsaw is provided by a taxi company, a bus company (the cost of the ticket is about PLN 24) and the railway. Koleje Mazowieckie trains run from Chopin Airport to Modlin. Further, between the Modlin railway station and the airport terminal, special airport buses, painted in the colors of Koleje Mazowieckie, run every 20 minutes. The cost of such a ride is PLN 12. In the future, the railway will reach the vicinity of the Terminal, after the construction of a railway stop. At the beginning, Modlin Airport employed about 140 people. The cost of the entire investment related to the launch of the Warsaw-Modlin Airport is nearly PLN 250 million. The amount of PLN 102 million came from the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment. The European Union granted funding in the amount of approximately PLN 76 million. Another PLN 168 million of the EU subsidy was allocated for the purchase of 16 electric multiple units, modernization of the siding and construction of a railway station at the Modlin airport. It is worth noting that the investment was to cost about PLN 380 million.
Operation of the airport.
In June 2012, the certification of the airport for public use by the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC) began. The document was released at the beginning of July 2012. This certificate is needed for the airport to be able to accept scheduled commercial aircraft. So far, General Aviation aircraft have been able to use the airport. The first operators at the airport were; Ryanair (July 16, 2012) and Wizz Air (July 18, 2012).
In mid-July, on Saturday (after July 6, 2012), the airport authorities organized an Open Day in the form of a Family Picnic.On July 15, 2012, around 10:00 am, the first passenger plane, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, landed. The head of Ryanair – Michael O’Leary, dressed in a white and red shirt of the Polish football team, got out of the plane. He decided to attend the airport opening ceremony in person.
On the same day (July 15, 2012), around 5:30 pm, a Wizzair A 320 plane landed. Wizzair is the second carrier to start flights from Modlin. In the first month, Ryanair launched 19 connections from Modlin Airport.
On the other hand, not for the first time, our national carrier, PLL LOT, did not take advantage of the new connections. Cheaper due to lower fees and with the poor condition of the carrier. Unlike Chopin Airport, the airport in Modlin is open 24 hours a day. It was also strange that the heads of PLL LOT stated that there is no ILS landing system at Modlin Airport yet. This lack did not bother low-cost companies. Let us also remember that it was the time of freemasonry rule in Poland (Civic Platform).
During the first month (July 15, 2012 – August 15, 2012), Modlin Airport served 161,100 passengers and performed 1,106 air operations. The leader was Wizz Air (118,956 passengers and 782 flight operations), and Ryanair (41,800 passengers). Among the days of the week, most air operations were performed on Fridays (84 operations).
From the airport in Modlin you could fly to 21 European cities: Barcelona, Glasgow, Brussels, Paris, Eindhoven, Milan, Liverpool, Stockholm, Budapest, Oslo, London, Rome, Forli, Dublin, Stavanger, Bourgas, Cork, Madrid, Doncaster, Malmo and Gothenburg. From September 2012, also to Bristol, Manchester and Dusseldorf.
December 23, 2012 – On Saturday, the Mazowiecki Inspectorate of Construction Supervision closed RWY. (runway) of the airport in Modlin. Almost all commercial flights have been transferred to Okęcie Airport until further notice. Few flights were moved to Lublinek Airport in Łódź. Financial losses in Modlin were large. However, it should be said that all passengers made their flights. Although with a delay, from Okęcie Airport.
The RWY inspection was carried out on December 21-22, 2012. An additional check was also carried out. The inspectors detected damage on two concrete sections, 500 m each, at the beginning and end of the RWY, and decided that normal traffic could not take place on them. The last two sections of the RWY have been closed exactly. (eastern 08 and western 26), just those that have undergone the largest renovation. The authorities of the Modlin Airport informed that it will only be able to handle planes that can land on a runway with a length of 1,500 m.
"Taking into account the above and safety considerations resulting from the aviation law, the President of the Civil Aviation Authority issued a decision to limit the operation of a part of the airport by excluding from use the part of the runway made of concrete technology indicated in the decision of the Provincial Inspector" – emphasized in the communication of the Civil Aviation Authority.
After the findings, the damaged runway was repaired by its contractor, i.e. ERBUD S.A. All under warranty. A 5-year warranty is usually given for this type of investment. The company was also obliged to cover losses resulting from the necessity to suspend the operation of the airport. It was not known how long the repair would take. The main stakeholders tried not to give any deadlines for completing the repairs. The problem with the implementation, however, was that it was a long winter with relatively low temperatures. It is true that there are technologies that enable work to be carried out, but they are very expensive and do not fully guarantee high quality.
What actually happened? In many places of the above-mentioned ends of the RWY, peelings appeared, which rapidly deepened as a result of the decrease in external temperature. These sections are made of concrete (cement concrete), and not as in other asphalt-concrete technology. Each of these technologies has advantages and disadvantages. Due to the climate prevailing in the Republic of Poland and the condition of the runway left by the army, these technologies were selected and not other. The area of the first threshold for repair was approximately 22,500 m2. Initially, it was planned to fill the cavities with a suitable binder (resin mass), which has the appropriate certificates and is commonly used at airports in Europe. This would allow traffic to resume as early as January 2013. However, a much wider scope of renovation was decided. The reason was an expert opinion made by the Technical Institute. Excessive amounts of chemical compounds were detected in the concrete, which should not be present in such an amount. Experts said that too much of these compounds got together with the aggregate. In such a situation, the entire concrete surface would erode completely over time.
However, ERBUD is not a newcomer to the market. He has 23 years of experience in the industry. It is one of the leading construction groups in Poland, with an annual turnover of approximately PLN 1.4 billion. It implements demanding construction projects in the commercial, energy, public infrastructure, engineering and road, energy and housing segments. He runs projects in Poland and abroad, i.e. in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It has an experienced, highly qualified team of engineers and construction specialists. It has an ISO and AQAP quality system. The company is a public company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and is among the 80 largest companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The largest currently implemented (2011-2013) ERBUD projects: Eurocentrum office building in Warsaw worth PLN 336.7 million net. Auchan shopping mall in Krakow / Bronowice worth PLN 185.5 million net. The seat of the Marshal’s Office and the Wielkopolska Parliament in Poznań, worth PLN 133.5 million net. Sports and entertainment hall in Szczecin worth PLN 120.6 million net.
At the Modlin airport, everything has been repaired and RWY meets all standards. After a comprehensive renovation lasting over half a year, on June 17, 2013, the Construction Supervision lifted its ban at the airport in Modlin. The runway still needs to be approved for passenger aircraft, which must be issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Removal of the ban by the Construction Supervision made it possible to start testing the ILS system at Modlin Airport. On June 18, 2013, the "Papuga" Turbolet L-410 aircraft, belonging to the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, began test flights of the ILS system from about 4:00 pm. The whole procedure took about two months. After completion, the system was entered into the register of Aviation Ground Equipment at the Civil Aviation Office. The system has reached category I, after which it will be possible to proceed to obtain category II. As a reminder, the ILS category I system guides the aircraft to an altitude of 200 feet (60 meters) with a horizontal visibility of not less than 2400 feet (800 meters).
25.06.2013 – According to official information, the Civil Aviation Authority, based on positive opinions of Building Supervision inspectors and its own checks and inspections, RWY and infrastructure, issued a decision to admit the runway to accept large passenger aircraft category C. (B 737, A 302). At that time, it was not yet known when the carriers would return.
On July 19, 2013, around 11:15 p.m., the first large passenger plane landed at the Modlin airport. It was a Boeing 737-86Q of the charter airline Travel Service Hungary. Flight No. TVS7489 from ZAKYNTHOS. At 1:45 at night, he took off to Antalya Havalimani. It was the beginning of charter flights from Modlin.
On September 30, 2013, low-cost carrier Ryanair returned to Modlin Airport. It started with 28 connections, including to Thessaloniki and Alicante. On the occasion of the return to Modlin Airport, Ryanair has prepared 100,000 tickets at a promotional price, from PLN 29. Tickets were on sale until midnight on Thursday (September 12, 2013). In addition, Ryanair announced an increase in the frequency of flights on its 8 routes by an average of 2 connections per route per week. The carrier also announced the opening of domestic connections to Gdańsk and Wrocław.
In the first week of October 2013, after the resumption of full operation of the airport, 29,033 passengers were handled in 214 flight operations. This gives more than 4,000 passengers a day.
The first plane, after a long break, landed on Monday, September 30, 2013, at 8:10 am. It was a plane that had flown in from Stockholm. There were a total of 18 take-offs and 18 landings that day. All went smoothly and according to plan.
The buses of Koleje Mazowieckie, which transport passengers from the PKP Modlin station to the Terminal itself, have resumed their activities.
We wish you further, uninterrupted development of Modlin Airport.
Basic data of the Warsaw Modlin Airport.
City: Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Civil Airport, Managed by: Mazowiecki Port Lotniczy Warszawa-Modlin Sp. z o. o. Opening year 2012. IATA CODE: WMI. ICAO CODE: EMPO. UTC+1 time zone.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman