Expansion of Terminal B at Katowice Airport

Katowice Airport – one of the biggest Polish airports – is located in the Silesian voivodeship, which abuts the Moravian-Silesian Region.

In 2019, 4.84 million passengers were handled at Katowice Airport. In Poland, the airport is a pacemaker in the area of charter flights. In the past year only, over two million passengers took advantage of travel agencies’ offers and departed from Katowice Airport. At the height of the season, the regular and charter network map at Katowice Airport consists of over 130 destinations.

Since 2007, Górnoslaskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze SA (The Upper Silesian Aviation Group) – the manager of the airport – realises a big investment programme which consists of numerous tasks. The biggest project which is currently being realised is the expansion of Terminal B; it began in September, 2019. Three terminals for passengers are currently operating at Katowice Airport. Terminal A is used to handle departure flights to countries which are not part of the Schengen Area. Terminal B, on the other hand, handles flights to countries which are part of the Schengen Area.  Last but not least, is Terminal C, which handles all arrivals.

The estimated yearly throughput of the entire terminal infrastructure is approximately six million passengers. Terminal B was put to use in July, 2007. Until mid-2015, the object handled all Schengen departures and arrivals.  In mid-2015, the terminal stopped handling arrivals; since then, the task is realized by the newly opened Terminal C. In 12 years (from July 2007 to July 2019), Terminal B handled approximately 14 million passengers. In the meantime, approximately 37.3 million passengers took advantage of the network map at Katowice Airport. That is all when it comes to the history of the object.

But what about the future? The primary goal of the expansion of Terminal B is to increase the yearly throughput of the terminal infrastructure at Katowice Airport from six to eight million passengers. As a result of the project, the surface of the building will increase by 40%, and its cubic capacity by 35%. The terminal will be not only enhanced, but also practically rebuilt inside. From the side of the car parks, the building will acquire a new façade; architecturally, it will be consistent with Terminals A and C. As a result, the aesthetic of the southern part of the terminals will improve.

Another significant change will be the movement (by approximately 17.5m) of Terminal B’s elevation to the south and its alignment with Terminal C. In the terminal’s free access area, major changes will also take place. Check-in and security control areas will be separated. Currently, both are located on the ground floor. Security control will be moved to the first floor. Resultantly, it will be possible to increase the number of security control stands from six to eight. On the ground floor, the number of check-in desks will increase from 18 to 28.

After security control, passengers will be greeted with big, positive changes, because the expansion project includes a significant increase of the surface of the departure hall. Moreover, the project will see the reconstruction – between the ground and first floor – of the exterior façade which faces the runway of Katowice Airport. Three exterior staircases – located behind the service road which runs along the terminal – will be constructed there. They will be connected with the building via steel bridges. Each staircase will have two independent rows for passengers. As a result, the number of boarding gates will increase from 10 to 16.

As part of the currently realized project, a new building dedicated to handling baggage will be built. It will have a new transport system for checked baggage, as well as safety control equipment which fulfills the newest security control standards. The expansion of Terminal B Katowice Airport is scheduled to finish in the second quarter of 2021.