Katowice-Muchowiec Airport
Encyclopedia
Katowice-Muchowiec Airport ' onMouseout='HidePop("64505")' href="/topics/ICAO_airport_code">ICAO code
: EPKM) is a general aviation
(mainly sport use) airport
in the Muchowiec neighborhood of Katowice
, Poland
.
It has one inoperative concrete
runway
, RWY 05/23 with the dimensions of 1109 x 30 metres (3640 x 98 feet). There is a displaced threshold length of 221 meters (725 ft) on both RWY 05 and RWY 23, yielding a landing distance of 888 metres (2915 ft). However, coal-mining activity damaged the runway and it is no longer used. The parallel 770-metre grass RWY 05/23 is also closed per NOTAM until the end of 2007. This leaves the 655-metre grass RWY 07/25 as the sole working runway.
The airport was built in the 1920s, and was used for civil aviation including scheduled passenger traffic, starting in 1926 with service to Warsaw
. Ground damage due to coal-mining activity eliminated the passenger traffic, and now only the sport use remains with infrequent general aviation arrivals and departures.
On the other hand, because of the long commute from the city centre to the 30 km-distant Katowice International Airport
, it has been proposed to the Katowice government in 2005 that a city airport be built at Katowice-Muchowiec Airport, offloading Katowice International for general aviation as well as some smaller scheduled traffic, serving primarily the business community and STOL
aircraft.
It was recently decided that building new concrete runway parallel to ul. Lotnicza (Lotnicza Street) with dimensions 850 x 25 metres is the best course of action. Further modernization would require also building new facilities, including a passenger terminal
. It is unclear how the proposed improvements are to be squared with the conditions which forced the cessation of passenger traffic in the first place. As of summer 2007, work on fixing the airport has stalled because of a court fight between its resident sport airclubs (aeroclubs) over airport's real estate (nominally owned by the city, but handed over to the airclubs in perpetual lease).
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...
: EPKM) is a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
(mainly sport use) airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in the Muchowiec neighborhood of Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
It has one inoperative concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
, RWY 05/23 with the dimensions of 1109 x 30 metres (3640 x 98 feet). There is a displaced threshold length of 221 meters (725 ft) on both RWY 05 and RWY 23, yielding a landing distance of 888 metres (2915 ft). However, coal-mining activity damaged the runway and it is no longer used. The parallel 770-metre grass RWY 05/23 is also closed per NOTAM until the end of 2007. This leaves the 655-metre grass RWY 07/25 as the sole working runway.
The airport was built in the 1920s, and was used for civil aviation including scheduled passenger traffic, starting in 1926 with service to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. Ground damage due to coal-mining activity eliminated the passenger traffic, and now only the sport use remains with infrequent general aviation arrivals and departures.
On the other hand, because of the long commute from the city centre to the 30 km-distant Katowice International Airport
Katowice International Airport
Katowice International Airport is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of center of Katowice, Poland. The airport has third biggest passenger flow in Poland....
, it has been proposed to the Katowice government in 2005 that a city airport be built at Katowice-Muchowiec Airport, offloading Katowice International for general aviation as well as some smaller scheduled traffic, serving primarily the business community and STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
aircraft.
Modernisation proposals
Katowice (321 thousand inhabitants, 4,5 million in nearby GOP conurbation)intended to transform its inner-city airport (current runway length: 1110 meters, width: 30 meters) into a proper City-Airport (there is limited space for the enlargement of the landing strip to approx. 1500 meters) that would serve this densly populated coal basin. However, only smaller aircraft could use it, and it would serve rather domestic and business traffic.It was recently decided that building new concrete runway parallel to ul. Lotnicza (Lotnicza Street) with dimensions 850 x 25 metres is the best course of action. Further modernization would require also building new facilities, including a passenger terminal
Passenger terminal
Passenger terminal may refer to:*A train station terminus at the end of a railway line*Airport terminal, a building at an airport where passengers board and disembark from aircraft...
. It is unclear how the proposed improvements are to be squared with the conditions which forced the cessation of passenger traffic in the first place. As of summer 2007, work on fixing the airport has stalled because of a court fight between its resident sport airclubs (aeroclubs) over airport's real estate (nominally owned by the city, but handed over to the airclubs in perpetual lease).