Copernicus Airport Wrocaw (Polish: Port Lotniczy Wrocaw im. Mikoaja Kopernika) (IATA: WRO, ICAO: EPWR) is an international commercial airport in Wrocaw in southwestern Poland. The airport is located 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of the city centre. It has one runway, one passenger terminal (with separate domestic and international sections, second terminal to be completed in 2011) and one cargo terminal.

History

The airport was built in 1938 for German military purposes before World War II. It was operated briefly by Soviet forces following the war before being used for civilian purposes in 1945. Services were operated to Warsaw, ód, Pozna and Katowice. By 1992 destinations also included Krakow, Rzeszów, Gdask, Szczecin and Koszalin.

'Port Lotniczy Wrocaw S. A.' was established as a company in January 1992 and Wrocaw airport assets operated by the state owned Polish Airports authority were transferred to the company in January 1993.

The first international flights were inaugurated in January 1993, serving Frankfurt, Germany. Significant airport improvements have been completed in recent years. A new international departures terminal was opened in May 1997 followed by a new domestic terminal in November 1998. A cargo terminal, international arrivals hall, and installation of a new meteorological system were completed in 1999; new fire station and apron extensions in 2000; new air traffic control tower and duty free area in 2001.

On December 6, 2005 the airport was renamed after the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (in Polish: Mikoaj Kopernik). The airport's new name is Copernicus Airport Wrocaw (Port Lotniczy Wrocaw im. Mikoaja Kopernika). Terminal extensions were officially opened on the same day, increasing the airport's capacity to 750,000 passengers per year. This capacity was quickly exceeded by several hundred thousand (in the first 9 months of 2007 the airport served 972,505 passengers) so the existing terminal space was expanded by 1,900 m² to alleviate some of the congestion, but more importantly make the terminal facilities conform to the requirements of the Schengen Agreement, which was implemented at Poland's airports on 31 March 2008.

Important Dates

On 4 April 2011 first Jumbojet ever landed at WRO - it was Boeing 747-212B(SF) Evergeen International reg. N485EV.

Development plans

On 19 July 2006 the architectural firm JSK was chosen to design a significant airport expansion. This includes plans for a new passenger terminal (eventually, after several stages of expansion, the airport will be able to handle 7 million passengers yearly), a runway extension to 3,000 m (9,843 ft), and assorted taxiway, apron and navigation equipment improvements. Also, car parking will be expanded to 1,000 spaces, and a conference centre with a hotel will be built on site. The first stage, increasing the passenger capacity to 3,2 million yearly, is expected to be opened on Ferbraury 29, 2012.

Airport facilities

Terminals

The airport operates modern domestic, international and cargo terminals. The international terminal contains a duty free area in the international departures hall. The cargo terminal, located beside the fire station and air traffic control tower, west of the passenger terminals, has a storage area of 3,300 m² (36,000 sq ft), a bonded warehouse, freezer and radioactive materials warehouse.

Airlines and destinations

See also

• List of airports in Poland

References

External links

• Copernicus Airport Wrocaw website