Significant difficulties at the airport in Krakow. Flights redirected to Katowice
Dense fog caused difficulties for passengers flying from Krakow to Balice. Some connections were redirected to Katowice. Airports also warn against traffic jams.
The night of December 2-3 brought thick fog, which affected traffic management at the Kraków Balice airport and caused major difficulties for passengers.
Mgły in Krakow. Flights diverted, travel difficulties
Flights whose destination airport was supposed to be Kraków were redirected to Katowice. This includes: o Easy Jet connections from Bristol, Paris, Belfast and Manchester. Due to difficult weather conditions, Krakow flights also started from Katowice: Israeli airlines El Al to Tel Aviv and Easy Jest to Paris, Bristol, Belfast and Manchester. Katowice Airport reported that the airlines had organized ground transport between the two cities for passengers of redirected flights. Getting from Krakow to Katowice usually takes over an hour.
These are not the only difficulties, as the access roads to the airport are clogged. Drivers will drive longer on Route 774 and at the A4 motorway exit. “Attention passengers! Difficulties on #A4 towards Katowice. Please choose alternative access roads to the airport,” the port said on Tuesday, before 8:00 a.m.
Traffic slowdowns should also be expected in the vicinity of the terminal. Passengers should take this into account when planning their journey to the airport. Additionally, meteorologists predict that the fog will last until Wednesday. 1:00 p.m.
Upset passengers posted photos on social media of a crowded terminal and traffic jams.
Current information in the application
Airport spokeswoman Natalia Vince recommended that passengers stay in contact with carriers and follow information about their flights in the Kraków Airport application and posts on social media. Current information is posted there. As forecast, visibility was expected to improve around 10 a.m.
This is not the first situation of this type recently. On November 27, due to difficult weather conditions in Krakow, several flights were redirected to Katowice, including: low-cost airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair.
In an interview with Rynek Lotniczy, the president of the management board of Kraków Airport, Łukasz Strutyński, said that in April this year, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency took over the investment consisting in the purchase of a new ILS – a radio navigation system that supports landing in conditions of limited visibility. The tender for the purchase is to be announced this year.
