Aviation.Direct
05 Jan 2026
The state-owned airport operator Polish Airports (PPL) has launched a comprehensive modernization program for Warsaw Chopin Airport to avert impending capacity bottlenecks.
The project, for which the bidding period runs until February 2026, involves investments in the range of €220 to €320 million.
Plans include an expansion of the passenger terminal, modernization of the baggage handling facilities, and the expansion of aircraft parking positions and infrastructure.
Construction is scheduled to begin after the contract is awarded in April 2027 and be completed by June 2029.
The aim of these measures is to increase the airport's annual capacity from its current level of approximately 24 million passengers to around 30 million.
The decision to invest comes against the backdrop of a new record result: as early as the beginning of December 2025, Chopin Airport surpassed the 22 million passenger mark for the calendar year.
Since the facility is thus reaching its physical capacity limits, proponents consider the expansion essential to maintaining stable air traffic in the Polish capital.
Critics, however, point to the limited strategic relevance of the location, as the new integrated air and rail hub "Port Polska" (formerly CPK) is scheduled to begin operations in Baranów in 2032.
The operator, PPL, defends the project, however, as a necessary "bridging solution" to operationally bridge the gap until the new major airport is fully operational...
