Katowice 2020-11-15
Mierzęcice Pyrzowice Airport.
Geographic coordinates: 50.471E 19.074E. Elevation 298 m.
New air traffic control tower.
The air traffic control tower (TWR) is often a symbol of an airport. Although the airport in Mierzęcice has been operating since 1940, it did not have an air traffic control tower for many years. When the 39th Fighter Aviation Regiment was stationed here, the role of the flight control tower was played by the Flight Command Post in a kiosk located on a truck. It was the so-called "Krasula", due to its black and white checkered pattern.
The first building intended to support air traffic at the airport was built in 1978 by the Polish Army and was operated by soldiers. Civilian controllers appeared in the tower in the mid-1990s, when air traffic over Poland was gradually transferred to civilian agencies.
In 1999, the first air traffic control tower was built next to Terminal "A". It was necessary for the airport to obtain an Airport Certificate for international commercial traffic. The tower is 23 m high from ground level. Initially, 10 air traffic controllers worked there. In the following years, commercial traffic in the port increased dynamically. In 2015, approximately 30 controllers worked in the tower. After the expansion of the passenger terminals, controllers began to have problems with seeing planes standing on the platform. The tower was too low and too narrow for the people working there and the installed communications and radar equipment.
Therefore, in 2016, PANSA decided to build a new air traffic control tower at the airport in Mierzęcice Pyrzowice. The need to build a new tower also results from the expansion of the airport, including the construction of a new runway. The value of the contract for the construction of the facility and its equipment was PLN 25 million gross. The main contractor was Budimex, which has already built several similar facilities in Poland. The tower is located in the south-eastern part of the airport.
Construction of the new tower began in March 2017. The building was completed in January 2018 and has been equipped since then. It was planned to be put into operation in January 2019.
The new tower is 46 m high and the operational level is 41 m high. The tower is equipped with modern communication, radio navigation and surveillance equipment, as well as social facilities for staff. The tower has rooms for rest for staff, whose work is often stressful. There are social, technical and garage rooms. The tower has 1,800 m2 of usable area.
The tower in Mierzęcice Pyrzowice is the tallest airport tower in Poland. The tower built in parallel at the Balice airport in Krakow is 42 m high, and the operational level is 36 m high.
The tower has two main parts. Some high and some low. The lower part is a two-story building with a column and wall structure. The high part looks like the Olympic torch. It has a steel structure based on an internal truss with a staircase, elevator and technical passages. The truss rests on a reinforced concrete foundation. The tower is topped with a metal, steel roof. The tower's façade was made using typical technology, i.e. aluminum composite panels. A system of internal roads and parking lots was created around the tower.
On October 20, 2019, the operation of the air traffic control tower at the airport in Mierzęcice Pyrzowice was officially inaugurated.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman