Krakow Airport is adding two more traditional passport control points in the departure area to speed up checks for passengers travelling outside the Schengen zone.
The work is intended to improve the capacity of the border crossing, especially as the number of travellers from outside the European Union, who face full border checks, continues to rise. Airport officials said the project is part of wider efforts to make departures smoother for international passengers.
The new points are being built in the restricted departures area at Krakow-Balice airport. Once complete, they are expected to ease pressure on the existing border control facilities and reduce queues at busy times.
The airport said the changes target passengers on flights to destinations outside Schengen, where passport checks remain mandatory before departure. That group includes many travellers from non-EU countries, whose journeys often require longer processing times than those within Europe’s passport-free zone.
Krakow Airport has been working on several improvements to handle growing passenger demand. The latest expansion is focused on departure control rather than arrivals, reflecting the operational pressure created by more international flights and more non-EU travellers using the airport.
Border control staff will continue to carry out conventional passport checks at the new points once they open. The extra capacity should help the airport manage passenger flows more efficiently, particularly during peak travel periods when queues tend to build.
The project also highlights the growing importance of airports in Poland as gateways for long-haul and non-Schengen travel. With more people flying beyond the European Union, airports are under increasing pressure to balance security with speed.
Krakow-Balice is one of Poland’s busiest airports and serves a large mix of leisure and business travellers. The added passport control desks are expected to support that demand and improve the experience for passengers departing to countries outside Schengen.
