Krakow International  

Date of Visit = July 2000

Pilot: = Geraint Pinches

e-mail = geraintpinches@genie.co.uk

Field Report = We flew to Krakow in a Warrior in July 2000.

ATC were excellent and Krakow Approach gave us radar vectors all the way to the threshold - like an SRA. Normally, VFR flights in Poland are required to use standard VFR routes called Victor Kilo routes, normally between 1000 and 2000 feet AGL (NOTE - AGL, not AMSL!). These are often quite complex but are marked on the Jeppesen VFR half-mil series. In reality, however, Polish ATC will let you proceed directly to your destination if they think you sound competent enough. You must, howeverm put the VK routing on the flight plan and then can ask for a direct at the FIR boundary.

As you might expect, the airport at Krakow is not used to handling light aircraft from the West. They don't seem to know who you are or where you've come from when you first arrive. They will certainly want to see passports, and perhaps other aircraft documentation too, including Certificates of Insurance, Airworthiness etc etc.

The airport is quite a long way from town but the taxi fare for the 25 minutes journey was still only about £8. Avoid the Hotel Warzawski where we stayed! - we were told one price when we booked in, only to be told a higher price when he paid the bill. It was a different receptionist and she had our passports in the safe so we had no choice!

That apart, Krakow old town is beautiful. Many taxi drivers in Poland do not speak English so ask for Stare Mesto (Old Town) before you get in and make sure he charges you on the meter. Eating out is cheap and hotels very reasonable, (although see above!)

Upon departure, do not expect to get away quickly. It took two hours for me to get Wx info, file a flight plan and pay fees. Landing and fuel fees should be paid in the main terminal at the Information desk. They also charge you a navigation fee for Polish airspace which should be paid in the Flight planning office (airside, past customs). They charged me $20 total for the nav fee ($10 for my flight into Poland and the same for my flight out). I have no idea whether I was being ripped off or not, but at first they thought I was IFR and tried to charge $36. If in doubt, ask for official confirmation otherwise they may well charge you over the odds and the hard currency may just go in their back pockets! Landing was about £23 for one landing, yet only £1.73 for a night's parking on the main apron!

Krakow is a great place to visit. The bureaucracy may be far-reaching but it's all part of the experience!