Central Airlines, a Chinese cargo airline, landed at Katowice Airport. Consequently, charter cargo flights connecting the Chinese city of Chengdu and Katowice Airport commenced. The route is handled for Chinese shopping platforms with a frequency of three to five flights weekly. “Our partners at Central Airlines made a good decision by choosing Katowice Airport as the place to which they will carry out cargo flights from China. Plans related to launching this route have been ongoing for a couple of months, and its inauguration is a big success. We are open to cooperation with Chinese logistics operators, to whom we can offer advanced infrastructure of Katowice Airport, as well as great location, near the most important motorways in this part of Europe.
Our advantage is also the short time required for ground handling and customs clearance, thanks to good cooperation with handling operators and the National Revenue Administration,” said Artur Tomasik, President of the Board of The Upper Silesian Aviation Group (Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze S.A. – GTL S.A.). “As an important air carrier between China and Europe, Central Airlines has chosen to launch services to Katowice, further enriching our European network. We are willing to grow together with the airport,” said Mr. Wang Yingming, CEO Central Airlines. Katowice Airport is the biggest regional airport in Poland in commercial air cargo traffic. The forecast indicates that the airport will note the best result in its history in 2025 when it comes to cargo traffic by handling approx. forty-five thousand tonnes of freight. The airport has an advanced cargo terminal which covers twelve thousand square metres, and an aircraft apron in front of the terminal which allows to carry out ground handling of a couple of big freighters simultaneously.
The Upper Silesian Aviation Group which manages the airport, has introduced, in cooperation with handling agents and the National Revenue Administration, a fast customs clearance process for shipments (IOOS H7). Thanks to this solution, customs clearance of tens of thousands of shipments from a single all-cargo flight takes only about six to seven hours, which is an excellent result compared to other European airports. In addition, Katowice Airport is available around-the-clock, without any restrictions, both in terms of operations (aircraft takeoffs and landings) and cargo terminal operations, which is important from the perspective of freight operators.
As part of the Katowice Airport infrastructure expansion program for 2024-2032, GTL S.A. plans to build a second cargo terminal which will cover approx. ten thousand square metres. Currently, a construction design of the building is being prepared. The terminal should be put into service in the second half of 2027. Central Airlines handled the first cargo operations in 2020. The core of its fleet consists of five wide-body Boeing 777F cargo aircraft. The carrier acts globally, offering its services from China to Europe and North America. In 2025, Central Airlines handles 52 airports in 18 countries.