IATA Code: GDN
Address: Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport
ul. Słowackiego 200, 80-298 Gdańsk
Terminal Plan: Here
Distance from City: 12km
Day Trip Possible: No
Passengers Handled: 2,000,000 (2008)
Closest Alternative: Bydgoszcz, Szczecin
Overview: The third biggest airport in Poland, Gdansk has seen plenty of growth over the past decade and seems well placed to deliver more as Poland becomes a better and better tourist destination. Under 200 miles from the capital Warsaw, Gdansk also lies reasonably close to Germany as well as over the water from Sweden and Denmark. Despite the terminal being opened in 1997, there is a new terminal underway, due to arrive in 2012.
Getting there: At 12km, this isn’t too bad and you can catch a bus from outside the airport which departs every half an hour, or there is an express bus, which costs slightly more money. Do be careful about taking a taxi and agree the price in advance. In general Eastern Europe taxi rip-offs are more prevalent than in developed countries, perhaps due to language differences. There is also car hire available at the airport, but no train station.
General Tips: The airport is well designed and the terminal clean and bright. A good design, with departures on the upper floor and arrivals on the bottom floor. The terminal is split into two halves with the departure gates for domestic and international flights being on the other sides of the airport, a pretty smart move when it comes to passport control. Can get busy with many flights leaving together with not much seating space before security. The top floor features a good view of the runway. Range of shops is OK; no problems here. The new terminal will approximately double the size of the airport and should improve things again.
Budget Travellers Guide: With this new terminal, Gdansk could be in a great position to handle a lot of new traffic. Already, there are a host of destinations served from here, although Easyjet have none. This is a bit of a battleground for Ryanair and Wizz, with the latter expanding greatly in recent times and getting many routes you would associate with Ryanair: Oslo-Torp, Hamburg-Lubeck, Milan Bergamo, Glasgow-Prestwick for example. British Airways did also operate here at one point, but with services already to Stansted and Luton, it’s unlikely they will be back any time soon. With no Euro currency and cheap transfer, it’s an ideal budget traveller spot, how long for remains to be seen.
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