Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, the primary gateway for Poland’s Podkarpackie region and a strategic fallback for humanitarian flights since 2022, handled 94,820 passengers in May—its highest monthly total of 2026 so far. The figure, released on 16 June, underscores a steady rebound in regional air demand, though volumes remain below their 2025 peak. The airport did not publish a route-by-route breakdown, but industry analysts attribute growth to the ramp-up of LOT Polish Airlines’ Warsaw shuttle, Ryanair’s Barcelona and East Midlands services and a wave of summer charters to Antalya and Heraklion. Business travel linked to the region’s fast-growing aviation-tech cluster—Pratt & Whitney, MTU and EME Aero all have plants nearby—also helped push weekday load factors above 70 %. For mobility managers, stronger throughput at Rzeszów means more reliable same-day connections to Western Europe via Warsaw and fewer diversions to Kraków (a three-hour road transfer). Local car-hire companies have reopened airside desks and the airport’s fast-track security lane, mothballed during the pandemic, is again operational—useful for executives shuttling between supplier sites. That said, monthly traffic is still tracking about 8 % behind last year, reflecting aggressive low-cost competition at Kraków Balice and continued caution among US carriers considering direct flights tied to defence-industry demand. Airport authorities are lobbying for EU funds to extend the apron and add a second jet bridge, arguing that sustained growth would de-risk corporate investment in Poland’s south-east. Travellers should note that the late-night arrival bank (23:00-01:00) remains congested owing to ground-handling staff shortages; priority immigration processing is limited. Employers planning high-volume assignments over the July–August peak may wish to secure group slots or book charter capacity early to avoid bottlenecks.
Source: RusTourismNews
