Until 2001, Warsaw's Frederic Chopin Airport was called Okecie - after the name of the village that was once located on this place. This name is still used by Poles in everyday life. The space now occupied by the airport has been used by aviators for their needs since 1910. And in 1927 an airport began to function on this territory. The current complex of buildings was commissioned in 1969.
Brief information about the airport
Today, 70 percent of Poland's passenger traffic passes through Chopin Airport. Its terminals handle 9 million passengers annually. Geographically, the air harbor is located not far from the center of the Polish capital - at a distance of only 10 kilometers to the southwest.
The mailing address of the airport: Zwirki i Wigury street, 1, 00906, Warsaw, Poland.
Routes and air carriers
You can get the latest information on the current areas of work of the airport and airlines by calling the help desk: + 48-22-650-42-20 or on the company's website. The airport's official website is only available in Polish and English.
Currently, almost 40 companies operate regular flights from Okecie Airport (former name), 15 air carriers operate charter flights, and 6 more carry out cargo delivery.
Flight directions may undergo some changes, therefore, when planning a route, it is advisable to clarify the available information.
The directions of air transportation from Chopin Airport are presented below:
Regular air carriers include such well-known companies as Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Germanwings, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Wizz Air.
Airport structure and plan
After the reconstruction of the Warsaw airport, the individual terminals were merged into a single complex of buildings called Terminal A, functionally divided into two halls - North and South. The latter, formerly Terminal 1, consists of two zones - A and B.
The former Terminal 2, which has become the North Hall, includes Zones C, D and E, which serve flights of the Oneworld and Star Alliance groups.
For business aviation and special flights, a separate terminal (Terminal General Aviation) is provided, which is located north of the main terminal complex with the three-letter abbreviation WAW.
The diagram of the zones and halls of Terminal A is displayed on the website.
Each level of the terminal has the following functions:
- the lowest, zero - the arrivals area, accepts passengers. Through it there is an exit to buses and taxis, and through an underground passage you can get out to city trains;
- the first level - the departure area, consists of passport control, check-in counters, security checks and places of its fast passage. After check-in, baggage with large dimensions is handed over to a special collection point located between zones B and C;
- the second level is for transit passengers waiting for their flight. Offices of tourist and other companies, cafes are located here, there is free access to the electrical network, a comfortable toilet, there is an informative board near the escalator;
- the third level is technical, available for airport personnel. It also houses the offices of companies serving WAW.
Below is the floor plan of the terminal:
Services
In addition to ticket offices, waiting rooms and checkpoints, the airport offers many different types of services that are in demand by passengers. Among them:
- rooms and recreation areas, including enhanced comfort;
- currency exchange offices;
- payment terminals and ATMs;
- catering establishments with different levels of service;
- free rooms for mothers and children;
- automatic cells of various sizes on the ground floor, in which luggage can be stored for up to 72 hours. Payment in coins of 1, 2 and 5 PLN without change in multiples of days. A day's storage costs from 12 to 15 PLN;
- 5 telephones allowing free calls to Polish landline and mobile numbers.
Trade enterprises are widely represented, including duty free shops, but one should not count on a large selection of gastronomic products.
The following services are provided for passengers with children:
- a playground is located near exits 38 and 39;
- play areas are located between gates 23 and 25 and opposite gates 40-41;
- outside the “Schengen area” a place for children's games is located between gates 19 and 22. All play areas are equipped with toys, slides and swings, televisions on which children's programs are broadcast;
- for mothers with babies, there are 10 rooms equipped with washbasins, places for changing and feeding babies;
- after passing the security check on the right side of the transit area, free wheelchairs are provided;
- Fast track security check possible.
The airport is actively practicing the provision of information services on a paid and free basis. In many places of the airport you can buy detailed maps of the city, city transport schemes, get information about car rental locations, working hours of various enterprises and institutions in Warsaw, round-the-clock branches of banks, post offices, medical institutions, hotels.
Shopping and catering
The tax-free trading system allows you to make purchases with a tax refund if the amount of the check exceeds 200 PLN. To do this, it is enough to carry out the tax free registration at the customs office of Terminal A, presenting your purchases and receipts, and then contacting any point with the Currency Express logo.
In the mezzanine between the 1st and 2nd floors of the terminal, you can satisfy your hunger in the restaurant. There are numerous cafeterias, grocery stores and kiosks in the arrivals and departures areas.
In the same zones, you can buy printed publications, various souvenirs, flowers and other goods for the trip. However, after 23.00 most of the shopping establishments are closed.
Charter and cargo transportation
Freight services from WAW (Warsaw airport code assigned by the International Air Transport Association IATA) are operated by six airlines that fly to the following destinations:
| Carrier | Arrival airport |
|---|---|
| UPS | Shanghai, Seoul, Cologne, Bonn, Almaty |
| TNT | Liege, Berlin |
| FedEx | Paris |
| Dhl | Leipzig |
| SprintAir | Poznan, Krakow, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Gdansk, Kiev (Zhuliany) |
| Genex | Minsk |
It is expected that after 2021, the operating airport. Chopin will serve only charter flights and military aviation flights in connection with the planned construction of a new air terminal between Lodz and Warsaw, no further than 50 km from the capital.
Charter flights are carried out by Small Planet Airlines, Sky Airlines, Royal Wings, Nouvelair, LOT, Eurocypria Airlines, Enter Air, AMC Airlines, Air Italy Polska. Ryanair Sun has been operating charters since April 2021.
FAQ
In Prague, Warsaw, Frankfurt and Paris, they often ask the same questions, caused by the unification of the rules for the stay of tourists in different countries. We tried to give answers to those that are asked most often.
How much will airport parking cost?
This is perhaps the most popular question. Parking lots P1, P2, P3 provide their services for a short time - up to a day:
| Parking duration in hours | Cost on sites P1 and P2, PLN | Cost at the P3 site, PLN |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 hour | 8 | 6 |
| 1 to 2 hours | 16 | 12 |
| 2 to 3 hours | 24 | 18 |
| For every next hour | 10 | 10 |
| Day | 74 | 68 |
Parking P4 provides services for long-term storage / parking of vehicles. You can reserve a seat in advance via the Internet here.
Parking the car for the first day will cost PLN 50, for the second and third - PLN 30. For each subsequent day, but not more than 7, 15 PLN will be charged.
Every day over 7 days will cost 10 zlotys. When booking a place for a full 8 or 15 days, their cost will be 140 or 210 PLN, respectively.
The layout of the parking lots is shown below:
How to get from the airport to the city at the lowest cost?
The airport is located 10 km from the center of the Polish capital, so you can easily use public transport. During the day, the interval of movement of 5 bus routes is from 10 to 20 minutes, at night it increases to 30 minutes. During the day, buses run on routes # 331, 188, 175 and 148. At night, only bus # 32 runs to the airport.
- Bus no. 331 runs from Wilanowska metro to Chopin Airport from 6.00 to 9.00 and from 14.00 to 18.00. The cost of the trip is PLN 3.4, the travel time is 19 minutes.
- Bus no. 188 runs from the eastern outskirts of the city via the Politechnika metro to the airport from 5.00 to 23.30. The cost of the trip is 4.4 zlotys, the travel time is 21 minutes.
- Bus No. 175 runs from the Old Town via the Centrum metro to the airport between 5:00 and 23:00. The cost of the trip is 4.4 PLN, the travel time is 36 minutes.
- Bus number 148 runs from the eastern outskirts of the city via the Politechnika metro to the airport between 5.00 am and 11.30 pm. The cost of the trip is 4.4 zlotys, the travel time is 21 minutes.
- Bus number 32 runs from the center of Warsaw to the airport from 23.30 to 5.00. The cost of the trip is 3.4 zlotys, the travel time is 15 minutes.
In addition, the airport can be reached by three trains by rail. On two routes - S2 and S3 - public transport rules apply, on the third - KM9 (Koleje Mazowieckie) - you need to purchase a separate ticket.
All trains go through the central and western train stations (Warszawa centralna and Zachodnia). Travel time is 20-25 minutes. The fare is 4.4 PLN.
If you have oversized luggage or in the case of a group trip, it may be advantageous to order a transfer from Chopin Airport, which can be arranged on the Kiwi-Taxi website.
Where can I find the flight schedule online?
Online flight schedules can be viewed on the airport website in English. The scoreboard in Russian can be viewed on the Airport website online.
Finally
Chopin Airport in Warsaw is an important and convenient transport hub, allowing you to get to anywhere in Europe and the main aviation hubs in the world. It is characterized by a high level of service, excellent location, but it may not suit some categories of passengers due to the lack of flights of low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizzair.
