New £26,000,000,000 European mega-airport set to rival Heathrow and Istanbul

A brand-new European airport is set to open in 2032, and it’s just been given a name: Port Polska.

The transport hub in Poland is set to attract 40 million passengers annually, with plans for three runways.

Built between Warsaw, and the smaller city of Łódź, this mega-airport could rival the likes of Heathrow and Istanbul as a gateway to Europe and the rest of the world.

Such an undertaking comes with a hefty price tag — authorities have allocated zł131,700,000,000 towards the project, which translates to just over £26 billion.

While Poland already welcomes almost 20million visitors annually, expert Anton Radchenko, from Air Advisor says this huge new airport could be a game-changer for the country.

Anton tells Metro: ‘If it is built and operated as a true intermodal hub with fast rail links, it will not just bring more visitors to Warsaw, but redistribute demand across the country by enabling travellers to land and reach Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, or Łódź quickly without requiring short domestic flights.’

Using parallels to consider Port Polska’s potential, Anton notes: ‘Istanbul’s new airport is a good example of how a modern hub can rapidly grow long-haul connectivity and stimulate stopover tourism.

‘Beijing Daxing is another example of how a new mega hub can unlock capacity and route growth.’

However, Anton does point out that increased flights could create tourism pressure without better visitor management.

He adds: ‘If Warsaw absorbs the bulk of arrivals, it can accelerate crowding, short-term rental inflation and strain on infrastructure. But if the rail links do what they are designed to do, Port Polska can actually reduce that pressure by making it easier for travellers to visit multiple regions on one trip.’

At the end of the day, Anton says that what will really decide the tourism outcome ‘is whether the airport is used to connect Poland to the world and connect the world to Poland’s regions, not just to Warsaw.’

When will Port Polska open and what will it look like?

Construction isn’t expected to begin until 2026, but it’s already had a whopping 2,585 hectares of land approved towards it.

Upon opening, the airport will have two parallel runways measuring 3,800 metres each in length, flanked by a 2,500-metre-long midfield featuring a passenger terminal and railway station.

Comparatively, London Heathrow Airport – which 83.9 million travelled through in 2024 – has two runways, with the Northern measuring 3,902 metres by 50 metres and the Southern 3,658 by 50.

As per the airport’s plans, there’s currently a third runway reserved should expansion be approved – but that’ll depend on demand, and how popular the airport proves when it opens in seven years’ time.

Passengers will also enjoy a central space occupied by an ‘interchange plaza’ animated ‘by lush greenery and flooded with natural light.’

British architectural firm Foster + Partners who are leading the design of the airport said: ‘People congregate in this vibrant space before travelling or welcoming visitors. The plaza brings together three main modes of transport: air, rail and road.’

The airport’s construction isn’t just intended to improve aviation links to the region either: the project also incorporates an expanded railway and road network, including high-speed railway connections throughout the country, served by six underground platforms.

With 40% of passengers expected to travel to the new airport via train, organisers expect that connections between Warsaw Central and Port Polska will take around 20 minutes, while Warsaw Central right through to Łódź will be around 40 minutes.

A controversial airport

Originally known as the Solidarity Transport Hub or Central Transport Hub (CPK), Port Polska was given a new name after the previous ruling party marred the original project by engaging in corruption.

Reports found that the previous right-wing populist government sold 160 hectares of land crucial to the transport hub to a private company.

However, when Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected in 2023, he shared his own grand plans for the hub, stating that the new site will ‘completely revolutionise travel across the country and beyond.’

He added: ‘Everyone who lands here, everyone who uses this airport, everyone who shops here should know: this is the heart of Europe, this is ‘Port Polska.’ We will meet there, fly from there to all corners of the world, do business there—the heart of Poland will beat there.’

This article was first published on January 15, 2025 and has since been updated.

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