Fourth aircraft maintenance hanga to be built at Katowice Airport, building to be leased by Wizz Air

22.05.2024 - 11:53 / traveldailynews.com / Wizz Air / Vicky Karantzavelou

Katowice Airport, in partnership with Wizz Air, is set to expand its maintenance capabilities with a new hangar, boosting service capacity for Airbus A321neo aircraft by January 2026.

The Upper Silesian Aviation Group (GTL S.A.) will build a fourth aircraft maintenance hangar at Katowice Airport. The building will be leased by Wizz Air. The building is in the design phase currently. GTL S.A. estimates that a construction works contractor will be chosen by the end of 2024, and the hangar will be operational by the end of January 2026 at the latest. The surface of the fourth hangar will be ten thousand square metres; it will have two bays allowing to serve aircraft the size of Airbus A321neo. The facility will also include numerous technical and storage rooms; a paint shop, grindery among others. The hangar will also be equipped with a three-storey office and a social facility, with a part dedicated to trainings.

“This new hangar represents an important moment for Wizz Air as we enhance our maintenance capacity to match the needs of our growing fleet,” said Michael Delehant, Chief Operations Officer of Wizz Air. “With the increasing demand for our services, this expansion will enable us to maintain the highest standards of safety and efficiency, ensuring that our fleet remains in optimal condition for years to come.”

After the inauguration of the fourth maintenance hangar, the total surface of infrastructure used for aircraft maintenance at Katowice Airport will exceed 32 thousand square metres and there will be eight bays in total allowing to serve Code C aircraft (Boeing 737/Airbus A320 family).

“Since 2007, we are consistently expanding the infrastructure of Katowice Airport. We wish to provide our partners a complex facility for aircraft activities. Consequently, we invest not only in infrastructure used to handle passengers; for instance, we are also developing the biggest aircraft maintenance centre among Polish regional airports. Wizz Air is not only the biggest carrier at Katowice Airport when it comes to the number of handled passengers, but also the biggest lessee of hangars at our airport, which shows the stability of our partnership, which began in May 2004. The fourth hangar represents new jobs for skilled staff in the high-tech industry. Consequently, GTL S.A. once again contributes to the economic transformation of the Silesian Voivodeship,” said Artur Tomasik, the President of the Board of the Upper Silesian Aviation Group (GTL S.A.).

Construction of the fourth aircraft maintenance hangar is one of the projects which is part of the investment program of Katowice Airport for 2024-2028. The complex programme, in addition to the expansion of the aircraft maintenance base, also covers the