Modlin Airport lost 10.9 million euro in 2013
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
05.08.2014 10:31
Warsaw Modlin Airport lost 10.9 million euro in 2013 after being forced to shut down the facility for most of the year owing to problems with the runway.
Modlin airport: photo - wikpedia/CC
However, local authorities have claimed that the losses are less than had been expected.
The airport was ordered to cease flights in late 2012, just months after opening, so that repairs could be made after cracks appeared in the runway.
Wizz Air, one of two low-cost airlines that had a contract with the airport, broke off all cooperation as a result of the problems.
Ryanair, which resumed flights on 30 September 2013, did so under revised terms.
Marek Miesztalski, treasurer of the Masovian Regional Assembly, which has a thirty percent stake in the airport, has claimed that “with absolute certainty” it is not the new terms that are generating the losses.
He told the Zycie Warszawy daily that the airport is recovering quicker than expected.
Miesztalski added that accusations that local authorities were responsible for the losses owing to mismanagement were “cynical lies”, following criticism from minority opposition party the Democratic Left Alliance.
He stressed that the company had been “deceived” by certain contractors.
The Polish Air Force's Institute of Technology concluded in 2013 that incorrect substances had been used in the concrete mix while preparing the runway, thus leading to cracks. (nh)