Plans revealed for Europe’s new ‘mega airport’ to be built in Warsaw, Poland

A new ‘superhub’ airport is being planned in Europe with construction work expected to begin by the of 2023.

As announced by cpk.pt on its website, this huge hub is set to be located between the Polish capital of Warsaw and the city of Łódź.

If everything goes to plan then flights should start operating in and out of the Warsaw Solidarity Airport – also known as Central Communication Port – in 2028.

Not only will the actual airport hub have to be built, but certain facilities will have to be incorporated. This is believed to include the construction of its own train station which will subsequently need to be connected to the current Polish rail network.

Why is a new airport needed?

Warsaw’s Chopin Airport is known to be operating almost at capacity so the addition of a new hub can only help to increase the possibilities for Poland’s national airline, LOT.

The new facility will reportedly be able to handle long-haul flights. That will allow passengers from Eastern and Central European countries to fly to major destinations around the world without first travelling to hubs such as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, in Western Europe.

Travellers from Central and Eastern Europe only have a choice of 16 airports that fly direct to international long-haul destinations according to a report from CAPA the Centre for Aviation. That is compared to more than 60 in Western Europe.

What can the new airport achieve?

As a result of this project, Warsaw Solidarity Airport will find itself placed at the forefront of international air travel along with London Heathrow and Dubai International Airport.

Simple Flying explained that for the project to become reality, an investment of around 8 billion ($8.6b) would be required. However, this figure could rise to €27.9 billion ($30b) with the addition of extra costs.

By 2035 the airport could be capable of handling up to 40 million passengers annually the publication continued. This would be increased to 65 million by 2060 with the addition of three parallel runways.

The news outlet quoted the CEO of LOT informing Bloomberg that: ‘Central Europe needs a proper aviation hub. We are going to be part of planning it and building it’.

Work on the new airport was initially scheduled to start in 2021 but was pushed back to 2023. Foster + Partners and Buro Happold unveiled the plans earlier this year. The office of the world-renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster revealed CGI images showing how the facilities would look.

Speaking with Notes from Poland, Grant Brooker, the head of studio at Foster + Partners’, explained: Our design focuses on passengers. Our ambition is to create an accessible building that will improve the travel experience through clear visual connections’.

He added: ‘We believe the CPK will completely change the way people travel around Poland, and will also become a new gateway to Europe and the rest of the world’.