Katowice 2013-11-09
Mierzęcice Pyrzowice Airport.
Geographic coordinates: 50.471E 19.074E. Elevation 298 m.
Civil airport. 2001.
Upper Silesia had an air connection with the Katowice Muchowiec Airport. But due to mining damage at Muchowiec Airport, regular flights were suspended. Passenger planes landed there sporadically.
Mierzęcice Airport began its civilian career in 1966. This was related to an attempt to use several military airports (including Babimost, Słupsk, Mierzęcice, Zegrze Pomorskie) for passenger traffic operated by LOT Polish Airlines. It should not be presumed here that other foreign carriers received access to these airports. That wasn't the case.
The historic take-off of the plane from Mierzęcice Airport took place on October 6, 1966, when the Il-14 passenger plane flew to Warsaw. Around 1968, a small station building and a platform apron (PPS) with a taxiway for LOT Polish Airlines aircraft were put into use at Mierzęcice Airport.
Passenger and cargo traffic was carried out with little intensity and usually in the summer. In 1981, passenger traffic practically stopped. This was related to two events. The first was the introduction of martial law on December 13, 1981. The second event is the opening of the Central Railway Main Line to passenger traffic. At that time, the journey from Katowice to Warsaw took about 2 hours. That is, much faster than by plane, because the passenger had to arrive at the airport at least 60 minutes before departure. Let's add the travel time from Katowice to Mierzęcice Airport.
The following years were a period of stagnation in passenger and cargo transport at Mierzęcice Airport.
In 1991, the Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. was established to revive the airport for passenger and cargo purposes. The difficulties were primarily in the legal arrangement. The communist system did not provide for the possibility of transforming a military facility into a facility managed by civilian entities. Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. was registered on March 6, 1991. On May 1, 1994, GTL S.A. took over the management of the Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice from the State Enterprise "Porty Lotnicze". The basic goals of the Company were and are; expanding the infrastructure of MPL Katowice and ensuring the highest possible standard of services provided.
Over the next few years, intensive preparatory work was carried out to transform the facility's infrastructure. By the end of the 20th century, several important investments were made. The passenger terminal was renovated, or rather completely rebuilt. Planned capacity of 1.5 million passengers. Halls were built for cargo operations.
In June 2001, after many months of negotiations, Mierzęcice Airport became a civilian airport. The Polish Army handed the facility over to the management of the Silesian Voivodeship. One of the important conditions was to maintain the aviation character of the facility. The facility's user is Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. (GTL S.A.) and Air Traffic Agency. The idea was to create a regional airport and, in the future, an international port. Not only passenger traffic was expected, but also goods traffic. A huge advantage for the airport was its location in one of the richest regions of the Republic of Poland.
At the beginning of the 21st century, modernization of the take-off field began. It began with the renovation of the central platform apron (CPPS), part of the taxiways (DK) and the RWY runway. RWY eventually reached a length of 2,800 m and is able to accommodate any modern transport aircraft.
The airport developed quickly and, considering Polish conditions, extremely dynamically. In 2006, the airport's capacity was 1.6 million passengers. And in 2007, after Terminal B was put into operation, the capacity increased to 3.5 million passengers. The airport in Pyrzowice was the most dynamically developing Polish airport. It has the largest number of charter connections. In the period 2003 - 2004, the airport management managed to attract low-cost airlines to Pyrzowice. In 2007, Passenger Terminal B was put into operation, and Terminal C was already planned. Intensive studies were also carried out on the design and construction of a second RWY runway, parallel to the existing one.
Officers' housing estate.
South of the airport there is a housing estate once called the officers' estate. Professional soldiers and their families lived here. The estate consists of approximately 20 residential blocks and the entire hinterland, with shops and cultural centers. The first apartment blocks were built in the early 1950s, and the last ones in the 1980s. The blocks are two- and four-story. In 2010, the estate was inhabited by civilians. The population is approximately 1,000 people. Residents constitute 1/7 of the entire population of the commune.
Infrastructure of Mierzęcice Pyrzowice Airport. 2010.
Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice. One runway RWY: 09/27, concrete 2,800 m x 60 m. ICAO code: EPKT. IATA code: KTW. Tower: 129.250MHz. Address; street Wolności 90. 42 - 625 Pyrzowice (Ożarowice). tel.: 0048 32 284 50 90, 0048 32 39 27 200. fax: 0048 32 284 50 53, 0048 32 39 27 376. Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. address; al. Korfantego 38, 40-161 Katowice. tel.: 0048 32 201 06 33, fax: 0048 32 201 06 34. Airport Information: tel. (32) 39 27 385. "LOT": tel. 0 801 703 703 mobile tel. (22) 95 72. Information about ticket sales: tel. (32) 284 50 50. Luggage and ticket check-in: tel. (32) 284 50 05. Lost baggage: tel. (32) 284 50 06. Customs Information: tel. (32) 358 71 00. Border Guard Headquarters: tel. (22) 845 40 71. Passport Information: tel. (32) 200 15 47.
The airport's location is favorable. Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice is located at a distance of: Katowice 34 km, Bytom 23 km, Chorzów 38 km, Sosnowiec 20 km, Gliwice 40 km, Zabrze 40 km, Częstochowa 60 km, Opole 100 km, Bielsko Biała 100 km, Kraków 97 km, Warsaw 230 km. Approximately 11,000,000 citizens of the Republic of Poland live in the airport area. It is located at an altitude of 298 m above sea level and is the highest airport in the Republic of Poland.
The airport is famous in the country for having the largest number of days a year, with favorable weather conditions for aviation, especially conditions for landing. It is a myth that air traffic at the airport in the 20th century was difficult due to smoke in Silesia. The second advantage of the port is the longest and at the same time sheltered (not outdoors) observation deck. It is approximately 190 m long. Anticipating the facts, in 2020, due to the expansion of the terminals, the publicly accessible observation deck was closed.
The airport is equipped with a high-class ILS landing support system. The system consists of two sets of devices: a direction transmitter (Localizer) and a glide path (Glide Path). Landing direction reception coverage was 30 miles. As standard, the equipment also included a DME beacon used to measure distances.
In 2009, the airlines that used Pyrzowice Airport were; LOT Polish Airlines, Euro LOT, Air France, Lufthansa, Wizz Air, Brit Air.
Runway.
The airport had one hard RWY, measuring 2,800 m x 60 m, in the direction 09/27. RWY initially had dimensions of 1,500 m x 50 m. In 1951, RWY was put into use after renovation. Then it received enlarged dimensions; 1,600 m x 60 m, and at the same time the first hardened DK was made. The extension of RWY took place more or less as subsequent faster fighter aircraft were introduced into service. At the end of the 50s, RWY was extended to 2,000 m. At the end of the 60s, to 2,400 m. In 2001, RWY reached 2,800 m. The area was 168,000 square meters. Concrete surface.
Photo description: Yellow - stage around 1951. Orange color - stage around 1958. Red color - stage around 1966. Black color - stage around 2001. Green color - emergency RWY.
When writing about RWY, it is difficult not to mention the process of modernization of the take-off field, which has been ongoing for several years, aiming to create a completely new runway, parallel to the existing one. It would be 3,200 m long, i.e. 400 m longer than the current one. But above all, the new RWY was to have a much greater carrying capacity, able to accommodate the largest aircraft in the world. Let us remember that the foundation of the existing road was weak and was built during World War II. In 2010, it was expected that the investment would be implemented.
On November 26, 2012, in Katowice, the Upper Silesian Aviation Society, the airport manager, signed an agreement with Budimex regarding the new runway. The contract was valued at PLN 121 million. The new RWY will be built 195 m north of the current RWY. It will have dimensions of 3,200 m x 60 m. The exact width of the RWY will be 45 m, plus 2 x 7.5 m of the side. The surface is asphalt concrete. In addition, new road and technical roads will be built. It was planned to build four high-speed exits. The radio navigation, telecommunications and meteorological systems will be rebuilt. The current RWY will turn into a taxiway. The area of the new RWY along with the layout of the main taxiways; L, N, R and S will amount to 208,500 square meters. The Platform Plate will be expanded. It will have an area of 110,000 m2 and will accommodate 13 Class B 737 aircraft. If everything goes according to plan, the facility will be put into operation in September 2014. Thanks to the construction of the new RWY, Pyrzowice will be able to handle even the largest planes departing with full load. So far, such service has had limitations.
The remaining infrastructure of the military airport.
In addition to RWY, the airport had a main road parallel to RWY and six road roads connecting with RWY. A total of approximately 3,000 m. One of the roads (switches) is a remnant of RWY 04/22 and is currently a so-called fast exit. The airport also has approximately 5,000 m of taxiways, which are approximately 10 m wide, currently (2013) not used. They were used to taxi planes to centering areas and to individual parking positions.
The airport has four PPS. The first CPPS is located opposite Terminals A and B. It has dimensions of approximately 450 m x 150 m and nearly 70,000 square meters. The second, equally large one, is located in the eastern part of the airport. It has dimensions of 350 m x 70 m. Two smaller PPS are located nearby. The second, third and fourth PPS are used to service transport aircraft. The airport also has a PPS located in front of the hangar, which measures approximately 300 m x 50 m.
Hangars. Currently (2012) there is only one hangar at the airport. In 2010, it was renovated. The hangar at the base is 80 m x 50 m. Next to it was a second hangar with a wooden structure. Due to its poor condition, it was demolished.
Distribution zones of combat aircraft.
There are two deployment zones for combat aircraft at the Mierzęcice Airport. The first zone was located in the western part of the airport. There are 14 stands (stands) grouped in pairs. They were surrounded on three sides by high earth embankments. The second centering zone was located in the north-eastern part of the airport. There were 30 individual aircraft positions there. Only 7 of them were surrounded on three sides by earth embankments. It should be noted that the sites located in the east are located in a dense forest. The central ones are surrounded by embankments, in a partially forested area, and the western ones are located in a completely open area. No shelter hangars were ever built at the airport. This proves the gradual loss of the airport's leading position in Poland's defense system.
At the airport, for the needs of the regiment, there were also; air traffic control tower, aircraft shooting range, MPS, railway sidings. Of these facilities, only MPS is currently in operation (2010). Fuel is transported by road tankers. The entire airport area is fenced.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman