Chopin Airport grows despite Middle East disruption

Warsaw Chopin Airport handled 1,769,606 passengers in March 2026, up 3.4 per cent year on year. The increase came in a month when airlines operating to and from the Middle East cancelled more than 360 rotations. In the first quarter, the airport passed 5.2 million passengers, up 8 per cent from a year earlier and the first time it has crossed the five-million mark in the opening three months of the year.

March still ended in positive territory

The busiest day of the month was Friday, March 27, when the airport handled 64,622 passengers. March traffic included 14,519 passenger flight operations and 15,757 total operations. The figures show that Warsaw maintained growth even as disruptions affected airlines serving the Middle East.

Traffic mix shifted toward low-cost carriers

Around 3.5 million passengers travelled within Schengen in the first quarter, while 1.7 million flew on non-Schengen routes. Traditional airlines accounted for 60 per cent of traffic, down two percentage points year on year. Low-cost carriers increased their share to 30 per cent, while charters fell to 10 per cent.

PPL chief executive Łukasz Chaberski said the Middle East crisis had a clear effect on the airport’s results and on airline operations. Fuel markets were also affected by the situation in the region, although Warsaw did not record a direct impact from that volatility in its own performance.

Rankings changed on the most popular routes

In scheduled traffic, London remained number one and Paris stayed second. The order changed further down the table, with Amsterdam, Brussels and Istanbul taking the next three places. The reshuffle reflects the pressure on routes affected by the situation in the Middle East.

In charter traffic, the top five started with Marsa Alam, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. Bangkok kept its place behind them, while Antalya dropped out of the group. Fuerteventura moved into the top five instead.