Zielona Góra Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport
nativename = Port Lotniczy Zielona Góra-Babimost


IATA = IEG
ICAO = EPZG
type = Public
owner =
operator = Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe "Porty Lotnicze" (PPL) [State Enterprise Porty Lotnicze (PPL)]
city-served = Zielona Góra, Poland
location =
elevation-f = 194
elevation-m = 59
coordinates = coord|52|08|18|N|015|47|54|E|type:airport_region:PL
website = [http://www.lotnisko.zielonagora.pl/ www.lotnisko.zielonagora.pl]
r1-number = 06/24
r1-length-f = 8,200
r1-length-m = 2,500
r1-surface = Concrete
stat-year = 2007 +/- change from 2006
stat1-header = Passengers
stat1-data = 6,739 (-18.96%)
stat2-header = Cargo (in tons)
stat2-data = 0
stat3-header = Takeoffs/Landings
stat3-data = 714 (-35.50%)
footnotes = Source: DAFIFWAD|EPZG|source=DAFIF] GCM|IEG|source=DAFIF] Statistics from Office of Civil Aviation

Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport ( _pl. Port Lotniczy Zielona Góra-Babimost) airport codes|IEG|EPZG is a regional airport located within the greater Zielona Góra agglomeration (the so-called Lubusian Tri-city) in western Poland. It lies 10 km from Sulechów, or 33 km from the Zielona Góra city centre.

The airport is the 11th busiest in Poland, or last among currently functioning with scheduled traffic. It has recently been taken over from the Polish Army by the regional authorities, but it is run by the state enterprise Porty Lotnicze (PPL), the operator of Warsaw's airport.

The airport is situated in the village of Kramsko, near the town of Babimost, 95 km west of Poznań (population 581,000), 90 km east from the German border, and 170 km from the center of Berlin.

The airport's catchment area consists of 3 million inhabitants of the Lubusz Land ( _pl. Ziemia Lubuska) and western Greater Poland ("Wielkopolska").

Land connections to Poznań (the largest city in the area) use the newly opened motorway (its junction lies 21 km northeast of the airport terminal), as well as the newly renovated railway line (Zbąszynek, an important rail terminus for the regional trains from Poznań, lies 10 km from the airport).

History

The airport is a former military base. It has a record of serving domestic traffic to and from Warsaw. The airport operated passenger traffic (2 connections daily) between Warsaw and Zielona Góra until September 2004, when, after 33 years of service, the state-owned Polish Airlines LOT discontinued the route, following ownership changes at the airport: The army stopped using it as its military base and dismantled some of its equipment.

After the army left the airport in 2004, the property was rented to the regional authorities in 2005, so that the airport new owner could start developing the airport. Massive shifts in the Polish airline market caused financial problems for the former monopolist state-owned carrier LOT, resulting in suspension of the Warsaw service, because LOT could not find suitable mid-sized aircraft for this route.

Recently this has changed, and since the end of 2005, two daily flights to Warsaw were operated by Jet Air for LOT, later reduced to one. As of 2008 Jet Air is the second airline serving the airport, without any ties to LOT. The local government subsidizes these flights so that they may take place at all.

The idea of attracting international traffic, in the form of cargo flights, for the region of western Wielkopolska and Lubusz Land has resulted in a signed agreement between the local government and the management, but nothing concrete came of that yet.

Airport infrastructure

The post-military airport ranks second in Poland in terms of its infrastructure surface, such as taxiways and aprons, and has a good quality concrete runway 2500 m (8200 ft) long and 60 meters wide. It is specified as PCN 45/R/B/W/T.

There's a medium-sized passenger terminal. The airport can handle up to 10 B-737 on its taxiways and aprons (apron size: 569 m x 94 m).

The airport possesses a passenger terminal of a modest capacity of 150,000 passengers yearly.

There exists a railroad spur next to the terminal that can be used for passenger service. Alternatively, it has been proposed that a train station be put on the well-frequented electrified rail line connecting Zielona Góra with Poznań, that passes only 1 km from the terminal. Under that scenario, the trip to downtown Poznań would take less than an hour.

Airlines and destinations

* Jet Air (Warsaw)
* LOT Polish Airlines
** Operated by EuroLOT (Poznań, Warsaw)

Statistics

*Sources
**2004-2006: Civil Aviation Office, ("Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego"), [http://www.ulc.gov.pl/_download/regulacja_rynku/statystyki/liczba_obsl_pasazerow_przesylek_20042007_150208.pdf "Statystyki przewozów osobowych i towarowych oraz operacji lotniczych w lotach regularnych i czarterowych w polskich portach lotniczych w latach 2007-2004"] , 15 February 2008. Link accessed 2008-04-05. pl icon]

ee also

*List of airports in Poland

References

External links

* [http://www.lotnisko.zielonagora.pl/ Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport] en icon pl icon
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