Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport (Polish: Port Lotniczy Zielona Góra-Babimost) (IATA: IEG, ICAO: EPZG) is a regional airport located within the greater Zielona Góra in western Poland. The airport is the 11th busiest in Poland, or last among currently functioning with scheduled traffic.
The airport is Poland's 14th-busiest, in last place among current airports with scheduled traffic. It has been taken over from the Polish Army by regional authorities and is run by the state-owned Porty Lotnicze (PPL), which also operates Warsaw Chopin Airport. Discussion exists about whether a company created by regional authorities should assume management of the unprofitable airport.
The airport is a former military base. Construction of Zielona Góra Airport began in 1954, and it entered service on 10 October 1957. A PZL-Mielec Lim-6 is parked adjacent to the terminal, commemorating the airport's military origin. The Lim-6 (NATO reporting name Fresco) was a Polish attack aircraft used between 1961 and 1992 by the Polish Air Force. It was a variant of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17.
Zielona Góra has a record of serving domestic traffic to and from Warsaw. The airport operated passenger traffic between Warsaw and Zielona Góra until 2004, when, after 33 years of service, the state-owned Polish Airlines LOT discontinued the route, following ownership changes at the airport. The army stopped using it as its military base and dismantled some of its equipment.
The post-military airport ranks second in Poland in terms of its infrastructure surface, such as taxiways and aprons, and has a good quality concrete runway 2,500 × 60 m (8,202 × 197 ft). There's a small-sized passenger terminal. The airport can handle up to 10 B-737 on its taxiways and aprons (apron size: 569 × 94 m (1,867 × 308 ft)). The airport possesses a passenger terminal of a modest capacity of 150,000 passengers yearly, however no more than 8316 passengers yearly were served.
There is a small cargo terminal located next to the passenger terminal T1. As 2022 LOT Polish Airlines was the only regular carrier flying to and from Zielona Góra.
