– Looking at the airport in Radom through the prism of financial decisions, I have no doubt that it will do so in the future. Several hundred million zlotys are unlikely to generate accumulated profits. “I don’t believe the airport will bring particularly big benefits to the region,” he says money. pl From the Institute of Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility at the Warsaw School of Economics, Dr. Adam Hoseman.
There will be an audit in Radom
This week, Maciej Lasek announced an audit of the Polish airport investment in Radom costing PLN 800 million.
This is necessary because money has been spent on a project that has yet to meet its objectives – The government gave full powers to the CPK during the European Economic Congress in Katowice.
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See also: “Airports can’t make money.” Expert in the philosophy of low cost flights
Dominik Sibinski, aviation market analyst at ch-aviation.com and Polityka Insight, strikes a similar tone.
Curse of Warsaw-Radom Airport
During the grand opening, the then Plenipotentiary for the Central Port of Communications, Marcin Horala, also joined the fire. He said the airport in Radom was “a foreshadowing of what CPK will look like.” The celebration of the airport’s first year of operations was peaceful.
By the end of 2021, PBL Vice President Stefan Swidkowski announced in an interview with fly4free.pl. Radom Airport is expected to reach 1 million passengers within 2-3 years of its opening, i.e. even in 2025. However, in the first 12 months of operation, Warsaw-Radom Airport handled only 130,000. Passengers.
A Warsaw School of Economics expert points out that it is difficult to determine the profitability of airport projects by comparing the investment costs and subsequent financial results of the company managing the airport. Airports are often compared to other infrastructure elements such as roads or corridors, so the increase in the attractiveness of the region is also taken into account.
Medium- and large-sized airports can even turn a profit financially, but smaller airlines are usually in the red, Dr. Hosemann says.
However, he stresses that Warsaw-Radom is an airport focused on low-cost and charter flights, so “it will serve mainly outbound tourism, and it is difficult to imagine that it will significantly attract investments to southern Mazovia.”
Why was the airport built in Radom?
Let’s remember that during the BIS govtAfter the bankruptcy of the airport that had been operating there for a few years, it was decided to build a new airport in Radom. The PLN 800 million investment was justified by freeing up the capital’s Chopin Airport by taking some of the traffic from low-cost airlines and charters.
At the same time, Polish Airports was involved in a conflict with the management of Modlin Airport near Warsaw, as one of the shareholders, blocking investment decisions. Radom is presented as a better managed alternative that doesn’t make the mistakes of Modlin.
Airlines have shown that they are not interested in an airport in Radom. The national carrier operates a regular route from there to Rome, and opens single seasonal connections in the summer. Charter traffic is limited. Wizz Air has opened a route to Larnaca, Cyprus.
No carrier can be forced to fly from Chopin Airport to Radom. The idea of seeking approval from the European Commission for the administrative division of air transport in Mazovia was also dropped.
Is the success of the airport in Radom possible? Just one scene
Experts see only one opportunity to keep the Warsaw-Radom airport buzzing with life.
– “Warsaw” will have a chance to take over traffic only if the capacity of Chopin and Madlin airports is exhausted and no new airport for Warsaw is built by then. Then the traffic volume at Radom will increase to a point where it can actually be profitable – predicts Dr. Adam Hosemann.
However, he stresses that this does not prove that the PLN 800 million project made sense from the start. – Because the attractiveness of the airport in Radom will not be the source of this success, but the possible negligence in improving the airport infrastructure serving the Warsaw integration – says the Warsaw School of Economics expert.
Dominik Sibinski also sees an opportunity for Radom’s “mineral” growth due to the closure of Chopin Airport.
In some cases, airlines, especially charter airlines, may move some traffic there. Not because the radome creates more demand, but because the costs of cramming extra flights into the congested Chopin Airport will increase.
-Dominik Sipiński, analyst at ch-aviation.com and Polityka Insight – statement for money.pl
“Matrix” and Chopin Airport expansion project
The current head of Polish Airports, Andrzej Ilkov, openly admits that he was never a supporter of building another airport in Radom. A new ruling party in the middle However, since the Warsaw-Radom is already built, you may ask that something be done with it.
Initial plans to expand Chopin Airport from 20 million passengers a year by another 10 million were also announced. The works will cost approximately PLN 2.3 billion and will last until 2029.
This is what he intended A specific offer has been prepared on the timings available at the airports Within Mazovia, i.e. at the capital’s Chopin Airport, Modlin, Radom and from the summer of 2025 even in Łódź.
However, Artur Tomasik, head of the Upper Silesian Aviation Society, which manages the Katowice-Pyrzowice airport, believes that the force of arguments will be of no use. During a debate at the European Economic Congress, Chopin said that the initiative to transfer charters from the airport to Radom would mean that operators would move, but to Katowice-Pyrzowice.
Some time ago we talked about this with President Ilko, who said that he wanted to transfer the charters to Radom. I told him that if he tried to do that, they would move, but to Byrzowicz.
Why so? Charters like ours that have no restrictions at night and ports like ours – not to mention we have high population capacity – these ports naturally serve and will serve this increased charter traffic. It is happening now and it was the same in the past. President Spikowski also wanted to transfer the charters to Radom, but that would not work. Because the purpose of flying is not really the airport, but something that happens in the environment, something that the environment has to offer the traveler.
-Arthur Tomasik – President of the Upper Silesian Aviation Society. Report during ECE 2024 in Katowice
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