Airport Guide

History of Krakow Airport

Though established back in the 1960s, Krakow International Airport owes its current status largely to the low-cost flights revolution, with the majority of international flights heading in and out of the Polish city operated by budget carriers.

Indeed, up until the mid-1990s, the base was almost unrecognisable from how it is today.

In 1995 in fact, the airport adopted the name Krakow Pope John Paul II in honour of the former pontiff who spent many years of his life in the city, with this coinciding with the introduction of a number of bargain flights.

However, it was not until after a protracted tussle with Ryanair, who had even been looking into the possibility of jetting into a new airport nearby due to landing fees, was resolved in the first few years of the new millennium that the airport really took off.

With the Irish budget airline finally agreeing to offer services to Krakow, other low-cost carriers followed, prompting the construction of a new terminal building to cope with rising passenger numbers, while plans are also in place to expand Krakow John Paul II even further over the next few years.

Travelling to Krakow Airport

Public transport links between the international airport and the historic centre of Krakow are both affordable and efficient.

Upon arrival at the international airport, passengers have the choice of taking the Balice Ekspres train service into the main Krakow Glowny station, or else taking one of the main public buses whisking visitors from the terminal buildings to the city centre every few minutes.

In addition, it's also possible to drive to and from the airport, thereby avoiding any delays, or take advantage of the numerous affordable taxis queuing up for custom outside the arrivals building.

Airlines flying from Krakow Airport

Poland's flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines offers a number of domestic and international flight options from Krakow John Paul II Airport.

In addition to regular services to Warsaw, the national carrier also flies to Athens, Chicago, Frankfurt, Newark, Paris, Rome and Vienna.

However, over the past few years, low-cost airlines have effectively taken over the tarmac at Krakow, offering budget flights to most major European cities or holiday destinations.

For example, Ryanair offers direct international flights to more than a dozen destinations, including Alicante, Birmingham, Brussels, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Malaga, Milan, Oslo, Rome and Stockholm.

Meanwhile, low-cost rival easyJet flies to Belfast, Bristol, Dortmund, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London Gatwick and Luton airports, and Paris.

At the same time, Aer Lingus flies to Dublin, Czech Airlines and Austrian Airlines offer services to Prague and Vienna respectively, while Finnair and Iceland Express offer services to their national capitals.

Furthermore, Norwegian Air Shuttle offers bargain flights to Scandinavia, including Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, while Lufthansa flies to Frankfurt and Munich.

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