The construction of a new cargo apron was recently completed at Warsaw Chopin Airport in Poland.
It is hoped that this addition to the airport’s infrastructure will help it handle increasing cargo traffic. The new ramp is located next to the old cargo apron in the southern area of the airport. It can accommodate three code F aircraft (such as the Antonov An-124) or six code C planes (such as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320).
“The investment project is our answer to the increasing demand for freighter handling facilities at Chopin Airport,” Michał Kaczmarzyk, director of Chopin Airport, said. “Our cargo traffic is growing dramatically and we need more and more new parking spaces for cargo jets.”
Chopin Airport handles more than 70 percent of Poland’s air cargo traffic. In the first half of 2014, over 27,300 thousand tonnes of cargo passed through the Warsaw airport, a year-over-year increase of 18.4 percent.
Domestic cargo volumes grew from 308 tonnes to 354 tonnes (+14.8 percent) and international volumes jumped from 22,700 tonnes to 26,900 tonnes (+18.4 percent). More goods were imported into Poland than exported: inbound cargo stood at 15,400 tonnes and outbound at 11,900 tonnes.
The airport also saw an increase in the quantity of mail handled, with a total growth of 1.3 percent in the first half of 2014, and as much as 12.8 percent for international traffic.
The most popular cargo destinations included Leipzig, Cologne, Dubai, New York and Chicago, with the biggest cargo carriers being LOT Polish Airlines, UPS Airlines, European Air Transport Leipzig, Emirates and TNT Airways.