Rzeszów Ulma Airport[3] (IATA: RZE, ICAO: EPRZ) is an international airport located in southeastern Poland, in Jasionka, a village ten kilometres (6.2 mi) from the center of the city of Rzeszów. Not to be confused with the much smaller Rzeszów (EPRJ) airport used by Rzeszów University of Technology and Rzeszów Aeroclub, it is the eighth-busiest airport in Poland.
Passenger domestic services to Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport began on 30 November 1945 with the opening of the circular domestic airline route number 1/2 Warszawa – Łódź –Kraków – Rzeszów – Lublin – Warszawa. The airport was re-built and opened for commercial traffic in 1949 after the first facilities built in 1940 were destroyed in 1944.[citation needed]
In 1999, the Polish Air Force, which had a presence at Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport since its opening, permanently closed its Rzeszów–Jasionka air base as part of an agreement by the Polish Ministry of Defence.[citation needed]
On 2 June 2007, LOT Polish Airlines commenced seasonal services to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark's Newark Liberty International Airport. Service to JFK has since ceased operations. As of January 2008, the airport has had scheduled international flights to Dublin and London–Stansted, in addition to its domestic connection with Warsaw.[citation needed]
In 2009–10, it registered an 18.66% increase in passenger traffic serving 451,720 passengers in 2010.[1] Coupled with the September 2006 start of construction on a new passenger terminal, this means that the airport is undergoing a rapid expansion, albeit in fits and starts, owing to delays in setting up the management company and obtaining financing and routes. The new passenger terminal opened in May 2012. As of 2014, Rzeszów Airport had been cited as an airport with below-forecast passenger numbers and an inefficient usage of EU subsidies.[4] Rzeszow Jasionka Airport, however, underwent an ECA (European Court of Auditors) audit[5] in 2014 and – among 20 other European airports – its marks were positive in terms of efficiency and legitimacy using EU funds on airports' modernization.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the airport has been used as a trans-shipment hub for Ukraine's civil, NGO and government supporters to resupply Ukraine and its people with medical aid, weapons and supplies.[6] Weapons and medical supplies are flown to the airport and then driven across the Polish-Ukrainian border in trucks. On 9 March 2022, the United States deployed two MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to the airport in what it called a "precautionary defensive move."[7] On 5 March 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Rzeszów to meet with Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in Ukraine. The President of the United States Joe Biden landed on Air Force One in Rzeszów twice, on 25 March 2022 to meet American troops, and on 19 February 2023, on the way to Kyiv. On 22 March 2023, William, Prince of Wales, landed in Rzeszów to meet British and Polish troops. On 24 March 2024 Polish President Andrzej Duda named the Airport after the Ulma Family, Polish citizens who were killed during World War II after Nazi Army discovered that they were helping Jews.[8]
Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport, situated 7.8 km (4+7⁄8 mi) north of Rzeszów, features the third-longest runway in Poland: 3,200 m × 45 m (10,500 ft × 150 ft). The airport is therefore capable of handling some of the world's largest aircraft, such as the Antonov An-124 and An-225,[9] Boeing C-17 Globemaster III,[10] Lockheed C-130 Hercules[11] and the Boeing 747.[12]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Rzeszów:
On 3 October 2023 a new rail link between the airport and Rzeszów Główny railway station opened, operated by Podkarpacka Kolej Aglomeracyjna.[23] The journey takes 18 minutes and a single ticket costs 4 PLN.
The airport also features scheduled bus services from MPK and MKS to Rzeszów city centre.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Media related to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport at Wikimedia Commons
