On Thursday, the official opening of the Warsaw-Radom airport will take place. Its construction began in May 2019. Once, however, the Radom airport had to be closed due to the lack of interest of passengers and, therefore, of airlines. This time it will be different, because – as the rulers argued – most Poles fly to the south of Europe, and the new airport is to be a spare one for the Chopin Airport and the Central Communication Port. Here is a timeline of the turbulent fate of the Radom airport so far.
May 29, 2014 – the civil airport in Radom started operating, it was the only public airport in Poland, which was built without EU support. The city invested over PLN 90 million in its creation, the port was built on the basis of a military airport.
May 30, 2014 – Alfa Star travel agency canceled the connection between Radom and Hurghada. The sale of tours on this route was launched in November 2013, the first plane was scheduled to depart on June 19, 2014.
June 9, 2014 – Radom Airport signed a contract with the first carrier, 4You Airlines, which was to fly, among others, to to Great Britain, Scandinavia and Italian. Ultimately, however, the carrier did not launch these connections, as it declared bankruptcy in October.
September 1, 2015 – the first regular air connections were launched – the Latvian airline Air Baltic offered flights from Radom to Riga for several months.
April 18, 2016 – SprintAir airlines launched connections from Radom to Berlin, Prague, Wrocław, Lviv and Gdańsk, flights were operated until the end of October 2017.
November 2017 – since this month, there have been no regular scheduled flights from Radom, the airport has been unsuccessfully looking for carriers and an investor who would spend money on necessary infrastructure investments, including for extending the runway and extending the apron. In 2017, the airport in Radom served 9,903 passengers.
July 24, 2018 – the company Port Lotniczy Radom filed an application to the court for “forced sale with an indication of the future buyer of the airport”, i.e. Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe Porty Lotnicze (PPL). Mariusz Szpikowski, then president of PPL, announced that the new airport could be ready in 2020. – Our schedules, which are not tight at all, show that we are able to be ready with the airport for 2020 and these are not optimistic assumptions – argued Szpikowski.
September 14, 2018 – The District Court in Radom approved the so-called pre-pack procedure, i.e. a prepared liquidation, indicating the State Enterprise “Porty Lotnicze” as the buyer of the Radom Airport.
October 13, 2018 – PPL bought the airport for PLN 12.7 million, after the court in Radom declared the company Port Lotniczy Radom bankrupt. – The analyzes that have been carried out show that most Poles fly to the south of Europe or to African countries. So the airport located south of Warsaw is very convenient for carriers and passengers – he explained Mark Suskithen head of the political cabinet of the Prime Minister.
Marek Suski explains the reasons for taking over the airport in Radom13.10.| – The analyzes that have been carried out show that most Poles fly to the south of Europe or to African countries. So the airport located south of Warsaw is very convenient for carriers and passengers – explained Marek Suski, head of the Political Cabinet of the Prime Minister, commenting on the purchase of the airport in Radom by the State Enterprise “Porty Lotnicze”. tvn24
February 27, 2019 – The State Enterprise “Porty Lotnicze” has signed agreements concerning i.a. a construction design with a functional and utility program for the construction of a new terminal and a construction design with a functional and utility program for car parks, city roads, parking spaces and stations.
April 23, 2019 – The State Enterprise “Porty Lotnicze” signed a letter of intent with the Itaka travel agency regarding close cooperation and activities for the development of the airport, it was then announced that from the summer season of 2021, the Itaka travel agency would offer charter flights from the Radom airport,
May 7, 2019 – Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the inauguration ceremony of the construction of the Warsaw-Radom airport, he announced that it will be a backup airport for the Chopin Airport in Warsaw and for the Central Communication Port. – Radom is regaining its dignity and development opportunities – said the head of the government.
Prime Minister Morawiecki: Radom will be a backup airport for Chopin Airport and for the CPK07.05 | The airport in Radom will be a backup airport for the Chopin Airport and the Central Communication Port, announced Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the inauguration ceremony of the construction of the Radom Airport.tvn24
July 8, 2019 – “Polish Airports” State Enterprise has signed a contract worth PLN 146.7 million for the reconstruction and extension of the runway at the airport in Radom. The contractor was Max Boegl Polska.
September 30, 2019 – “Polish Airports” State Enterprise has announced a tender for the construction of the terminal.
October 29, 2019 – The State Enterprise “Porty Lotnicze” informed that the first planes from the airport in Radom will depart later than expected – in the spring of 2022. It was explained that this was related to problems with the tender for the construction of a new terminal, the interested companies appealed to the National Chamber of Appeals.
March 6, 2020 – PPL has signed a PLN 280.5 million contract for the construction of a new airport terminal. The contractor was Mirbud.
July 2020 – the Mazowieckie Voivode issued four decisions authorizing the reconstruction of the Warszawa-Radom airport.
September 7, 2020 – PPL has signed a contract for the construction of an administration building and a warehouse and garage hall. The main users of the new facilities will be: airport services and administration, border guardsCustoms Office and Ground Handling Agency.
October 19, 2020 – the cornerstone was laid at the construction site of the airport terminal in Radom.
May 2021 – in connection with the expansion of the airport in Radom, the expropriation process is underway, several residents were still in dispute with PPL and the Mazowieckie Voivode.
August 23, 2022 – PPL informed that they will be the first regular carrier LOT Polish Airlines,
September 5, 2022 – Itaka travel agency, as the first tour operator, started to offer customers leisure with departure from Radom.
December 5, 2022 – Mirbud informed about the completion of the construction of the airport terminal.
January 19, 2023 – PPL informed that half a thousand different types of navigation lighting lamps are ready and installed at the Warsaw-Radom Airport,
March 1, 2023 – Warsaw-Radom Airport, by the decision of the President of the Civil Aviation Authority, received a certificate of public use airport, issued on the basis of European regulations. The document was issued for an indefinite period.
end of March 2023 – Passenger tests were carried out at the airport, which were a dress rehearsal before making the port available to travelers. In total, about 750 people took part in the tests, apart from airport personnel and state services.
mid April 2023 – Itaka travel agency resigned from offering some directions from the Warsaw-Radom airport. “After the pre-sale period, we verify our program plans for departures based on occupancy. In the case of departures from the Warsaw-Radom airport, it was too low for some of the planned destinations” – informed TVN24 Biznes Piotr Henicz, vice president of Itaka Holdings.
April 27, 2023 – ceremonial opening of the Warsaw-Radom airport. The first passenger plane will land on the same day, it will be an evening flight from Paris. This year, the new port is expected to handle around 200,000 passengers. passengers.
Main photo source: PPL