Katowice Wojciech Korfanty Airport () is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of Katowice, Poland. The airport is named after Wojciech Korfanty, a politician of the early years of Polish independence. It is the fourth-busiest airport in Poland by passenger volumes, with just shy of 7.3 million passengers in 2025. It is also the second-busiest airport in the country by cargo volume and the largest origin of charter flights in Poland.

History Early years The current location of Katowice Airport was initially used by the German air force. In the early 1940, the Luftwaffe began construction of an airbase in the meadows around Pyrzowice. One medium hangar, and three stone and concrete airstrips were built, with the runway lengths varying between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, and around 50 meters wide. The airbase was used for handling of military aircraft flying from the inner part of the German Reich, carrying supplies to troops on the Eastern Front.In the final phase of World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered aircraft were tested here. Following General Ernst Udet's (a Luftwaffe flying ace) death in 1941, the airfield was named Udetfeld

After the Red Army's advance in early 1945, the Soviet air forces gained the control of the airfield. In 1948, the Soviets handed the airbase over to the Polish Air Force. It was then used by the 39th Fighter Regiment, created on 17 April 1951.

A new runway was built in 1964. Soon after, the first-ever regular passenger traffic started, with a LOT Polish Airlines place taking off for Warsaw on 6 October 1966. By the end of 1969, a small passenger terminal was built (), together with a taxiway and an apron.

This runway has since been replaced by a new adjacent one (), completed in May 2015.

Development since the 1990s In 1991, Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze (The Upper Silesian Aviation Group) was established and in 1994, it became the operator of Pyrzowice Airport. International service from Pyrzowice commenced on 27 March 1993, when Lufthansa started its daily service to Frankfurt Airport.

Poland's admission to the European Union has supercharged airport's growth. The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air chose Katowice for its first base, with their inaugural flight taking off for London Luton. Other low-cost airlines, as well as charter airlines, followed. In 2007, a second terminal (Terminal B) for Schengen flights opened, and in 2015 an arrivals-only Terminal C was completed. Also in 2015, a new runway, which is the second-longest runway in Poland at , was completed.

Future plans include the construction of a completely new passenger terminal, a further expansion of the recently built cargo terminal, and a new railway connection.

Facilities Terminals There are three passenger terminals: A (non-Schengen departures), B (Schengen departures), and C (all arrivals), as well as a cargo terminal. Terminal B has been completed in 2007 and underwent a major expansion in 2019–21. Altogether, terminals at Katowice Airport are capable of handling about 8.0 million passengers annually.

In 2024, the airport's owner announced plans for another airport expansion which would allow Katowice Airport to handle up to 12 million passengers per year and double cargo volumes by 2028.

Runway and apron The airport's concrete runway is 3200m by 45m, oriented 8 and 26, and can accommodate aircraft as large as Boeing 747 or Boeing 777, albeit not at MTOW."Boeing 747 8 Airport Planning Guide" , Boeing.com. Link accessed 22 August 2007. Heavy transports such as Antonov An-124 or An-225 have been noted to land there on occasions. The airport uses new generation Instrument Landing System, a Thales 420 system. The runway at Katowice Airport is the second longest runway in Poland, behind Warsaw Chopin's runway 15/33. 33 new aircraft stands are under construction as of now. They will be located between taxiways E (Echo) and H (Hotel), to the west from main apron, between main and cargo apron and to the east from cargo apron.

The airport has two plane spotter stands, one at the western end of the airport's runway. The platforms are free to access.

Air traffic control tower The new ATC tower has been already built. It is the tallest ATC in Poland and in Eastern Europe, at 46 meters height.

Aircraft maintenance facilities Wizz Air, which has a base at the airport, is the primary operator of two maintenance buildings at Katowice Airport and services their Airbus A321neo fleet there. Linetech, an aircraft maintenance contractor, operates two other buildings and services Embraer E190 jets.

Other facilities The airport owns three parking lots with 4,348 parking spaces in total. Parking lots P1 and P2 (948 spaces) are located right next to the terminal and focused on shorter-term parking while parking lot P3 is located further away and dedicated to long-term parking. A free shuttle runs from parking lot P3 to the terminals. There are also multiple other, privately owned parking lots near the airport. In 2023, a train station with limited train service has been opened .

There is also a Moxy Hotel, a brand by Marriott International, located right next to the main parking entrance (P1).

Airlines and destinations Passenger The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Katowice:

Cargo

Statistics Busiest routes

+ Busiest routes from Katowice Airport (2024)Rank Airport Passengers Change 2023 / 24 1. Antalya (AYT) 641,982 10,2% 2. Dortmund (DTM) 435,815 12,0% 3. Hurghada (HRG) 362,670 28,1% 4. Marsa Alam (RMF) 270,822 40,3% 5. London-Luton (LTN) 243,011 0,8% 6. London-Stansted (STN) 198,745 6,7% 7. Djerba (DJE) 138,673 50,3% 8. Catania (CTA) 136,775 96,6% 9. Frankfurt (FRA) 122,913 6,6% 10. Warsaw-Chopin (WAW) 121,161 4,1% 11. Eindhoven (EIN) 120,407 0,0% 12. Larnaca (LCA) 118,982 20,6% 13. Athens (ATH) 118,333 11,0% 14. Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) 115,050 53,4% 15. Heraklion (HER) 111,865 19,6% 16. Tenerife-South (TFS) 110,815 37,3% 17. Barcelona–El Prat (BCN) 106,530 28,9% 18. Malta (MLA) 103,376 96,8% 19. Bergamo (BGY) 102,499 43,9% 20. Rhodes (RHO) 100,609 3,4%

Passenger figures YearAnnual statistics on airport website Passengers Air operations Cargo (tonnes) 1996 68,203 3,586 596 1997 101,054 4,290 1,241 1998 150,724 6,256 1,365 1999 170,230 6,510 1,522 2000 168,126 8,710 7,745 2001 180,015 9,441 2,196 2002 202,267 8,389 2,886 2003 257,991 9,375 3,548 2004 622,612 13,803 5,038 2005 1,092,358 16,222 5,636 2006 1,458,411 21,014 6,113 2007 1,995,914 24,489 7,795 2008 2,426,942 27,030 12,703 2009 2,364,613 26,206 6,543 2010 2,403,253 26,770 11,195 2011 2,544,124 29,259 12,138 2012 2,550,848 30,584 10,546 2013 2,554,198 28,990 10,877 2014 2,695,732 28,771 16,269 2015 3,069,279 31,727 16,119 2016 3,221,261 31,013 17,674 2017 3,892,941 34,725 17,779 2018 4,838,149 41,007 18,5472019 4,843,889 41,606 20,1212020 1,445,781 21,922 20,3692021 2,328,973 28,856 32,1042022 4,419,090 40,123 40,6422023 5,609,022 45,167 35,9262024 6,386,145 48,505 37,1752025 7,299,085 53,918 46,448

Ground transportation By car Katowice Airport is located on regional road 913, 40 km (24 mi) north of downtown Katowice, with access through national road 86. It is near the junction of A1 motorway and S1 expressway that provide direct access to other major cities such as Częstochowa, Gliwice, Rybnik and Bielsko-Biała.

Short term parking is available directly in front of the terminals while long term parking lots are located alongside the regional road 913. The airport offers 3,922 parking spaces. Additional parking is available on private lots not associated with the airport. The airport is also served by taxis, Uber and iTaxi. There is also premium parking at Katowice International Airport.

Car rentals from all major rental companies as well as local ones are available.

By bus MetropoliaZTM operates few lines to the airport. AP line is an express line that goes directly to downtown Katowice. It operates at every half an hour with an exception between midnight and 3am when it operates once per hour. M11 also operates to Katowice but with stops in Sączów, Wojkowice, and Siemianowice Śląskie. M14 operates to Gliwice via Tarnowskie Góry. M19 operates to Sosnowiec via Będzin. M116/M16 operate to Gliwice via Piekary Śląskie, Bytom and Zabrze. Flixbus connects Katowice International Airport with Katowice, Kraków, Częstochowa, Chorzów, and Bytom. Matuszek bus corporation connects Katowice Airport with Katowice city centre and Kraków city centre. P-Air PyrzowiceEkspres.pl (official WizzAir's carrier) connects the airport with Kraków and Częstochowa. Leo Express connects the airport with Ostrava, Rybnik, Gliwice and Bohumín direct from the airport. Bus connections from other largest cities of the region, such as Kraków, Częstochowa and minibus - inter alia from/to Opole, "Dojazd, Airport Katowice" - www.airport-lotnisko.katowice.pl "Dojazd do lotniska Pyrzowice" - www.elotnicze.pl Wrocław are also available. Local buses connect to the city of Bytom where one can change for bus to Katowice.

Bus stops are next to Terminal C and Terminal B. They are about 10 metres from the terminal entrance.

By rail

In December 2023 the airport gained a rail link to Tarnowskie Góry and Zawiercie, which allows direct trains running from the airport to Katowice. The stop for the airport terminal is called ”Pyrzowice Lotnisko” and is located approximately 500 metres from passenger terminals, to which leads an asphalt pavement. The station is covered with a roof and adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities.

As of January 2026, the station is served by Silesian Railways (line S9, Częstochowa - Chorzów Batory), PKP Intercity (Lublin - Katowice), and RegioJet (Warsaw - Ostrava - Prague).

The airport rail yard will also include the railway track connecting Katowice Airport with the CMK High Speed Main Line via line no. 182 Zawiercie - Tarnowskie Góry. This project has received funding from the European Union. According to the schedule, the finished infrastructure will be put into service no later than June 2026.

See also Katowice-Muchowiec Airfield Silesian Voivodeship Katowice urban area List of airports in Poland

References

External links