PANSA (the Polish Air Navigation Service Provider) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have announced the publication of the first edition of an Airspace Strategy for Poland (ASP). It is anticipated that the demand for aviation in Poland will double over the next 20 years to an estimated 1.5 million flights per year. In that time, passenger volumes at Polish airports may increase to 68 million passengers a year.
Poland will have to modernize its airspace and air traffic management (ATM) network to service this demand, while ensuring safety and improving environmental performance, plus reducing costs and delays. Successful airspace and ATM modernization could generate an extra €6.0 billion (US$6.8 billion) in annual GDP and create 65,000 new Polish jobs by 2035.
The ASP was jointly developed by IATA and PANSA and covers an agreed scope of initiatives on airspace modernization.
Commenting on the announcement, Janusz Janiszewski, PANSA’s Acting President said: “I believe PANSA will provide an important contribution to the airspace modernization over Europe. Current evolving aviation market needs, especially the capacity demand, is a major factor which encouraged IATA and PANSA for this bottom-up initiative.”
“Current levels of airspace-related delays across Europe are a serious inconvenience for passengers and a drag on economic activity. The projected growth in passengers—which is particularly strong in Poland—will make these challenges more acute. So PANSA’s leadership in working with airlines on an Airspace Strategy for Poland is hugely significant. Working closely with PANSA, we can ensure that Polish airspace is optimized, bringing huge economic benefits to the country”, said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe.
As part of a wider aim to provide for future demand for air transport, Poland is planning a new Central Transport Hub (CTH) project, including a large new airport.