Port lotniczy Warszawa Okęcie w latach 1934 - 1992 na archiwalnych fotografiach

The international airport located in Warsaw was opened in 1934. It serves scheduled, charter and cargo flights. On April 29, 1934, a new terminal was officially opened, taking over passenger traffic from the Mokotów airport. The ceremony was attended by, among others: President Ignacy Mościcki, Prime Minister Janusz Jędrzejewicz, the diplomatic corps and directors of seven European airlines. It was the largest civil-military airport in the Second Polish Republic. In 1935, a 20-meter-high monument to Józef Piłsudski (destroyed by the Germans in 1944) was unveiled at the military airport. During the defense of Warsaw in September 1939, from the first hours of the war, the airport was the target of Luftwaffe attacks. On October 5, 1939, a plane carrying Adolf Hitler landed at Okęcie and flew to Warsaw to receive the victory parade at Aleje Ujazdowskie. During the German occupation, the airport was used as a transport airport. In October 1944, the Germans began the gradual destruction of the airport's infrastructure. Before withdrawing from Warsaw, they damaged the runway and taxiways. Civil air transport from Okęcie was resumed in March 1945. In 1962, a decision was made to expand the Warsaw-Okęcie Central Airport. In 1978, passenger traffic in the hall was separated into arrivals and departures, moving arrivals to a separate pavilion. In 1980, the main runway was extended by 700 meters, thanks to which the airport can accommodate all types of aircraft. The introduction of martial law in 1981 significantly contributed to the decline in the number of passenger air transport. An upward trend appeared in 1983. The number of passengers served began to grow again every year, which is why in 1986 the Government decided to further expand the Warsaw port. In the years 1987-90, large-scale preparatory works were carried out for the construction of a new passenger terminal at the Warsaw airport. Construction of the new facility began in 1990. After 24 months, the investment was completed. At a cost of approximately 300 million German marks, an airport station, a multi-storey parking lot and a road access network were built. Warsaw gained a modern terminal with a capacity of 3.5 million passengers per year. The new station opened on July 1, 1992. The first to use it were travelers returning from Athens, Bangkok, Dubai and New York. Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like and comment. If you haven't already - SUBSCRIBE to the TJP channel. #poland #warsaw #airport