There is talk of an airport. It's a simple institution to build, some concrete one meter thick, a hall with traffic, shops and restaurants, but where to get the people? A total of 4,000 people work in Pyrzowice (Katowice airport – editor's note), which served 5.5 million passengers last year. This means that even more is needed for such a large port. We need to create a city (for employees – editor's note) – said Cezary Orzech, an aviation journalist in the morning TVN24 about the project of building the Central Communication Port (CPK).
During Wednesday's press conference, the Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the new government intends to continue the construction of the Central Communication Port. – An airport will be built in Baranów. It will be the most modern airport in Europe, said the head of government.
Donald TuskPiotr Nowak/PAP
A series of questions about the CPK project
Cezary Orzech, an aviation publicist, spoke on TVN24 about potential problems related to the implementation of this investment, noting that the debate lacks the human factor.
– There's talk of an airport. It's a simple institution to build, some concrete one meter thick, a hall with traffic, shops and restaurants, but where to get the people? A total of four thousand people work in Pyrzowice (Katowice airport – editor's note), which served 5.5 million passengers last year. This means that even more is needed for such a large port. We need to create a city, said Cezary Orzech.
The publicist noted that it takes “ten thousand people, more or less, who will not use the high-speed train, because not everyone lives close to the Central Station, to get there.”
– We need to create a city with full infrastructure. Every large airport is a city where 100-200 thousand passengers pass through every day and they must have everything provided. A hotel nearby, a post office, an outpatient clinic. So far I have not heard about how this is to be solved – he added.
No plans for CPK
Orzech noted that all the information that has been published about CPK over the years, including now, shows that “there is no general plan for the development of passenger aviation in Poland.”
– It never existed. Although regional airports were obliged to create such a program, such a general plan. And all the airports did it, they are developing very well – said Orzech, pointing out that regional airports near large urban centers are constantly serving more and more passengers.
– I am waiting for a master plan that will specify what place regional airports and the Central Airport and Okęcie will have, because without such a plan it is impossible. Too much money has been invested in the country. Once, a dozen or so years ago, the Okęcie airport handled 60, almost 70 percent of domestic traffic. Now this has changed, 65 percent of passengers fly from regional airports, which are beautiful, very well connected and very well managed – he pointed out.
Warsaw-Radom AirportMateusz Szmelter / tvnwarszawa.pl
The problem of planes and infrastructure
During Wednesday's conference, Prime Minister Donald Tusk also stated that the government wants LOT to become one of the largest aviation companies, which means the need to expand its fleet to over 130 planes, including about 30 wide-body planes.
LOT Polish Airlines plane (illustrative photo)
Cezary Orzech asked about competitive opportunities LOT Polish Airlineswhich as a “strong national carrier” would be tasked with attracting customers, noted that LOT has 75 aircraft.
– Lufthansa has 300 planes, it has already ordered another 200 planes with the option (to extend the order – editor's note) by another 100. So before we reach 2032 (the planned date of completion of CPK) and these 100 planes are purchased for LOT, the competition will have even more of them.
Central Communication Port – visualizationsCPK
CPK location in central Poland
Orzech noted that we are talking about the Central Communication Port, but with a good network of connections, residents of western Poland will not go to Baranów, but to Germanwhere there are several well-connected airports.
– We need to solve the problem of who to buy planes from, because there are very few of them, because there is a very high demand, and whether they will be purchased on time. Because if not, this idea to do it here Central Communication Portto be a hub here, where passengers will arrive and depart from here, this… is only for those passengers who have a short time to transfer. Because there will be no urban infrastructure there, only stubble – he added.
Main image source: Leszek Szymański/PAP