John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice
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Saint John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Sw. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice |
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | LHC/KRK Airport Services | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Kraków | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Balice, Poland | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | Ryanair | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 241 m / 791 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°04′40″N 019°47′05″E / 50.07778°N 19.78472°ECoordinates: 50°04′40″N 019°47′05″E / 50.07778°N 19.78472°E | ||||||||||||||
| Website | krakowairport.pl | ||||||||||||||
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 EPKK
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| Passenger volume | 4,983,645 18% |
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| Aircraft movements | 41,902 15% |
Saint John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (Polish: Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II since 4 September 2007; earlier in Polish: Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice) (IATA: KRK, ICAO: EPKK) is an international airport located near Kraków, in the village of Balice, 11 km (6.8 mi) west of the city centre, in southern Poland.
The airport opened for civil aviation in 1964. The Balice airport was a military site until 28 February 1968. Four years later the first passenger terminal was built there.
In 1988 the authorities decided to build a new terminal that was opened for public use in 1993. In 1995, the entire apron was modernized.
In 1995 the airport's name was changed from Kraków–Balice Airport to John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice, to honor Pope John Paul II, who spent many years of his life in Kraków and had served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1963 until his elevation to the Papacy in 1978. For marketing reasons, the official name was further "streamlined" on 4 September 2007 as Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II.
The airport was modernized once more in 2002, and since then new international connections have been established.
In 2003, when Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair became interested in starting a service from the John Paul II International Airport, the airport authorities refused to reduce the landing fees. In response, the regional authorities of Kraków and Lesser Poland Voivodeship decided to build a new airport near the existing one, using the infrastructure of the military airbase adjacent to the shared runway. Finally an agreement was reached, and the existing airport was opened to Ryanair and other low-cost carriers such as Germanwings, EasyJet, and Centralwings.
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