Łódź is well off the radar for most travellers, a fact reflected in the diminutive size of its extremely under-used airport. Boasting a single runway, one terminal building and zero taxiways, Łódź Lotnisko was host to just six flights on the day we arrived.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing…
Off the plane
There is hard standing for approximately four jets on the airport. And being that Ryanair is the only major operator out of Łódź, there are zero air bridges. You simply walk down the stairs, across the concrete apron and join a queue of people outside the terminal.
The queue moves slowly into a glass door, behind which is…
Immigration at Łódź
Annoying, getting through the door is not the end of your ordeal. Inside you enter a roped queuing system, to approach one of four desks manned by a Polish border guard.
Two of the desks are for EU citizens only, while the other two are for non-EU rebels like Linda and I. The cause of the massive delay iOS obvious – the EU’s new highly inefficient EES system which requires non-citizens to have their photo and fingerprints taken before permitting entry.
Just like the US system, it is slow, laborious and of dubious effectiveness.
Top tip: There are toilets to the right hand side of the queuing system.
Bonus tip: Wheelchair users who are disembarked from the plane by ground crew get to jump the queue. We did not 😭
Arrivals at Łódź
Beyond immigration, a large arrivals area featuring two, unused luggage carousels. There’s also an unmanned customs checkpoint.
If you missed the toilets before passport control, there’s another here. You can also find a vending machine, a coffee machine and an ATM.
Head through the doors at the end of the baggage hall to arrive in Łódź proper.
Shops at Łódź Airport
The main concourse of the airport is deserted by the time Linda and I reach it. We were the last in the queue and just about everyone from our flight has already disappeared.
There are a couple of car hire desks (all closed and shuttered) and a snack shop that is open but quiet. A few further steps takes you out of the building and into a covered drop-off area.
Łódź Airport accessibility
Operating on a single level with zero steps throughout, Łódź Airport is excellent for wheelchair and scooter users.
From the airport
Outside the terminal we find a taxi rank and a bus stop. There’s a bus waiting to take people into town, but we decide to give it a miss because of the wheelchair. It’s quite large, ungainly and we’re not sure how easy it will be to get on and off the bus.
Instead, we hang around waiting for a cab. A few appear and are quickly snagged by the stragglers from our flight. Soon Linda and I are alone, and so I set about booking an Uber – with a 25 minute wait.
Thankfully, a taxi from one of the local firms swings into the rank, hopeful of finding one last fare at the otherwise deserted terminal. Sebastian, our driver, doesn’t speak a lot of English, but he gets us to our accommodation on Ulica Piotrkowska – and gives us his card in case we need another taxi during our stay.
It turns out Sebastian uses a printout of flights arriving and departing from Łódź Airport to plan his fares. He takes speculative visits to the under-used terminal when a plane is due – and he just happened to find us at the tail end of the passengers.
At just under £10 (including a 10zl/£2 uplift for the heavy luggage/wheelchair), we may well use Sebastian to get back to the airport on Saturday morning.
Off for a wander
Sebastian drops us off outside the Grand Hotel on Ul. Piotrkowska around 12:30, giving us two-and-a-half hours before we can check into our accommodation. Initially I had planned for us to stop for cake and coffee at the E. Wedel café opposite, but it is currently closed for refurbishment. Instead, we take a trundle north along Piotrkowska looking for something yummy.
It’s warm and sunny, a lovely day for a stroll. Local families and a smattering of tourists are sat at the many roadside cafés and restaurants for which this street is famous.
Knowing that Linda always enjoys the desserts and cheesecake at Cukiernia Sowa, I steer up gently towards the epic Manufaktura shopping complex. Housed in a series of repurposed 19th Century textile mills, it’s a temple to the new European cult of consumerism. Perhaps fitting given that this very site was where anti-communist strikes once brought the city to a grinding halt.
The shopping centre has all the shiny glitz and upmarket stores you would find in any European city. It also has some rather decent cafés serving proper Polish cheesecake. It would be wrong not to indulge. Sernik Baskijski for Lin and a cherry cinnamon roll for me at Vita Café. Delicious.
After snacks, we head back to our accommodation at ul. Piotrokowska 37 which I will write about separately.
Dinner tonight is a kebab from a small shop just down the road. It’s quite average.
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