CPK mega airport: Europe’s new hub eyes Dubai-scale growth

Europe is getting a swanky new airport that could rival London's Heathrow and, potentially, Dubai International.

It's called the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), a $32.5-billion behemoth of an aviation gateway in Warsaw. It bears Poland's ambitious new mega airport project, which has recently taken a major step forward.

The latest project milestone: official approval and handover of the passenger terminal design.

This signals the airport's transition into its next development phase.

With the CPK set to transform European travel, will it challenge Dubai’s dominance?

The CPK airport construction, set to begin as planned in 2026, aims to become a pivotal transport hub in Europe.

The ambitious project aims to integrate air travel and high-speed rail to significantly enhance connectivity across the continent, as per Passenger Terminal Today.

The approved passenger terminal design, created by a consortium led by Foster + Partners and Buro Happold, encompasses a sprawling 450,000 square meters — almost three times the size of Warsaw Chopin Airport’s terminal — and is structured across three levels optimised for efficient passenger flow. 

The terminal will initially handle up to 34 million passengers annually, with an expansion plan in place to increase capacity to 44 million per year.

Its design includes around 140 ticket and baggage check-in desks, with built-in flexibility to expand to 170 desks as passenger demand grows.

In terms of cost, Deputy Development Minister Maciej Lasek told Reuters in 2024 that the whole CPK project would cost 131 billion zlotys ($32.5 billion) up to 2032.

A more recent estimate has given a figure of $34 billion total project cost for CPK.

The terminal will feature dedicated contact stands for both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, with 26 and 23 stands respectively, designed to support phased expansion and operational flexibility.

In addition to the terminal itself, the project integrates an underground railway station connected directly to the terminal, reinforcing CPK’s vision as a multi-modal transport hub. 

The railway link, part of the Warsaw–Łódź High-Speed Rail Line, is targeting completion by 2029, with the airport becoming operational by the end of 2032. 

This integration is expected to transform passenger transit possibilities by easing access between cities and countries.

CPK aims for a transfer passenger share of 35-40%, highlighting its ambition to not only serve as a national gateway but also as a key European connecting airport. 

The passenger terminal construction contract is set to be awarded in 2026, with tenders exceeding $8 billion underway to involve substantial domestic participation and economic impact.

Currently, CPK’s projected passenger capacity, even at its full planned expansion of 44 million annually, positions it as a competitive new hub for Europe, though it still far short of the world’s largest airports. 

For example, Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest hub, is on track to handle 100 million passengers by the end of 2026, driven by robust post-pandemic travel growth and strategic geographical positioning between Asia, Europe, and Africa. 

Dubai reached a record 92.3 million passengers in 2024 and expects to exceed 96 million this year. 

Its growth rate consistently outpaces many European airports due to its role as a global transit point backed by strong airline operations from Emirates and flydubai.

In a European context, even the busiest airports process fewer passengers than Dubai: London Heathrow, Europe’s top airport, processed about 40 million passengers in the first half of 2025. 

Other major European hubs like Istanbul, Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Madrid Barajas hover around 30-40 million passengers annually, with growth rates averaging 3-5%. 

Megahubs like Milan Malpensa and Athens have shown stronger growth but remain well below Dubai’s volumes.

The contrast clearly shows that while CPK emerges as a new European mega airport with state-of-the-art infrastructure designed to handle tens of millions of passengers, it does not match Dubai’s sheer scale and international connectivity, which stem from Dubai’s unique geographic and economic advantages.

Passenger Projection Comparison (Annual Passengers)

Scheduled to open by 2032, CPK aims to capture a meaningful share of Europe’s air traffic and become a multi-modal hub. 

Source: Airports Council International - Europe