Katowice airport opens new runway
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
28.05.2015 13:24
The first plane took off from Katowice Airport’s new 3,200-metre runway on Thursday morning.
KTW's new runway Photo: PAP/Andrzej Grygiel
The new runway – 400 metres longer than the previous strip – is set to aid the airport’s development, and is capable of handling larger aircraft.
“This is one of the longest runways in Poland,” Artur Tomasik, President of the Upper Silesian Aviation Group (GTL), said.
The concrete runway is currently 3,200-metres long and can be extended by a further 400 metres if the need arises.
“I hope that in the future we will be able to fly to destinations far afield, to North America, and even to Latin America,” Tomasik said.
The new runway is equipped with light and radio navigation aids, which are to be added to a further investment to allow planes to land in low visibility conditions.
The airport’s runway is currently equipped with ILS category I technology, although from 2016 it is to be upgraded to ILS category II, which will allow planes to land in visibility not more than 550 metres.
The cost of the investment amounted to PLN 157 million, and was in part funded by the EU. (jb)
Source: IAR/PAP