The aviation market in Poland

In the third quarter of 2021, Polish airports handled 9.3 million passengers. At that time, Poles most often travelled to Great Britain, Germany, and Greece.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, 12.9 million passengers were handled at airports in Poland in the first three quarters of 2021. There was an intense recovery mainly in the third quarter, caused by the higher number of offered connections under the summer schedules, the low number of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections, and the progressing vaccination program. Comparing data with results from before the pandemic, there was a significant drop in flights in 2019 – 65.7%.

In the third quarter of 2021, Polish airports handled 9.3 million passengers. This is an increase of 93% compared to the third quarter of 2020, and a decrease of 40.9% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.

There are currently 15 passenger airports in Poland. Analysing the passenger transport in the first three quarters of 2021, most of this traffic took place at the airports in Warsaw (Chopin Airport), Kraków (Kraków-Balice Airport), and Gdańsk (Lech Wałęsa Airport). The most significant increase in this period compared to the corresponding time of 2020 was achieved by the airport in Katowice (Pyrzowice Airport) – over 440 thousand passengers more. A slightly smaller increase was recorded in Warsaw – over 357 thousand passengers more, and in Poznań-Ławice – over 126 thousand passengers more. The airport in Kraków had the most considerable decrease, as it transported 578 thousand passengers less, than in Gdańsk – 95 thousand passengers less, and in Bydgoszcz – 58 thousand passengers less.

In terms of travel destinations, most Poles in 2021 travelled to or from Great Britain, Germany, and Greece. In the case of charter flights, most people travelled to or from Turkey, Greece, and Egypt.

The aviation market share by volume of operations

The largest share in the aviation market in Poland in 2021 was held by LOT Polish Airlines (25.2%), followed by Ryanair (25.1%), Wizz Air (16.1%), and Enter Air (11.0%). The remaining carriers with a significantly lower market share were Ryanair Sun (3.9%), Lufthansa (3.5%), Smartwings (3.5%), and others (11.8%).

Cargo transportation

In the first three quarters of 2021, over 94.7 thousand tons of cargo „on board” were transported. It is an increase of 32.5% compared to the corresponding period of 2020 and 5.7% compared to the three quarters of 2019. The most popular destinations in the first three quarters of 2021 were Germany, the United States, and India – the same as for the third quarter. The largest tonnage was transported from and to the airport in Warsaw – 70.2 thousand tons (it is 74% of all cargo carried on board at Polish airports during this period). Compared to the period of three quarters before the pandemic, it can be noticed that in 2019 the volume for the airport in Warsaw decreased by 0.4 thousand tons, and the airports in Katowice, Gdańsk, and Wrocław recorded an increase compared to 2019.