Lodz Airport before the peak season
20,000 passengers have already flown from Łódź on charter flights for their vacations, and 60,000 more are still awaiting the most enjoyable days of the year. How has the airport prepared for the peak vacation season?
The summer charter season started exceptionally early at Łódź airport. Even before the May holiday, the first tourists flew to Turkey for vacation. So far, the airport has handled 20,000 passengers on summer charter flights. Most people have chosen to go to Turkey, with nine charter flights departing from Łódź to Turkey each week.
Dr. Anna Midera, President of Łódź Airport: "It's generally believed that summer and vacations begin when students finish school. But at our airport, summer and the associated travel agency charter season began earlier. Since the end of April, the airport has been operating in vacation mode, meaning exceptionally intensively. This will continue until mid-October. We estimate that during this period, 80,000 tourists will take advantage of vacation packages organized by travel agencies. Additionally, residents of Łódź eagerly fly independently to Spain: to Alicante and Malaga, as well as Milan Bergamo. These are destinations we offer year-round, and almost 65,000 passengers have used them since the beginning of the year."
Currently, flights to cities in Spain are twice a week, and to Milan, which is a good transfer point, three times a week. However, in October, Ryanair will fly between Łódź and Milan four times a week. Bergamo Airport is a good transfer hub. The number of low-cost flight destinations at the Italian airport will allow for travel dreams to places like Sicily, Sardinia, and many cities in Spain and Portugal.
Last year, Łódź airport handled 357,000 passengers, including 60,000 charter flight passengers. This year, the management plans to serve half a million passengers, including 80,000 travel agency clients. The growing number of travelers necessitates adjustments to the terminal's interior and airport parking.
Magdalena Charczuk, Marketing Director of Lagardere Travel Retail Poland: "Łódź Airport is expanding its commercial offerings in collaboration with Lagardère Travel Retail in Poland, which in June opened two unique concepts in the departure hall: the foodvenience 1Minute Smacznego!, also known from city locations, and the airport bar Lokal +48 rooted in Polish culture. They serve passengers within a single, shared space with complementary offers. Lagardère Travel Retail in Poland also operates the duty-free shop Aelia Duty Free, Aelia Beauty, the Relay newsstand, and two convenience stores 1Minute at Łódź airport. The operator is actively expanding its activities beyond the travel market. In Łódź, in the city space, it is present with brands such as Inmedio Trendy, Furore!, and Costa Coffee. Recently, it opened two Costa Coffee cafes in the new design at CH Manufaktura."
Robert Makowski, Commercial Director of Łódź Airport: "We are continuously working on developing our network of connections, but also on improving the comfort of passengers waiting for their flights. Today, we are presenting new dining establishments, but it’s worth mentioning that we have previously renovated and refreshed existing shops both in the duty-free zone and the public area. Thanks to our collaboration with Rainbow Travel Agency, we will soon open a playground for our youngest passengers. We are also expanding airport parking because last year, during the peak season, it was almost completely full. We have designated a special area for passengers with travel agency vouchers, and in the coming days, you will also be able to park in a new parking lot in front of the Bartolini Air pilot school building. This is not the end. We also plan to renovate the non-Schengen area, which we plan to implement in winter when traffic is a bit lighter."
Charter flights from Łódź: Turkey (Antalya, Bodrum), Bulgaria (Burgas), Greece (Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos), Tunisia (Enfidha).
Scheduled flights (Ryanair): Alicante, Brussels Charleroi, Dublin, East Midlands, London Stansted, Malaga, Milan Bergamo.
