Poland's biggest airline plans comeback to Ukraine with flights to two cities
Photo: Poland's largest airline plans to return to Ukraine (flickr.com/photos_ab-planepictures)
The largest Polish airline, LOT, has officially announced its readiness to resume flights to Ukrainian cities within six weeks after peace is achieved and the airspace is declared safe, Avianews reports.
According to the media outlet, the Polish carrier is already developing an ambitious strategy to restore air connections with Ukraine.
Stages of return
In the first stage, LOT plans to resume regular flights from Warsaw to Kyiv and Lviv - its primary markets in Ukraine prior to 2022.
Later, the route network may be expanded to include Ukraine's regional airports, once their infrastructure is restored. In addition, the airline is considering launching flights to Ukraine from various regions of Poland.
Aircraft to be used
For Ukrainian routes, LOT plans to deploy four modern Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, each capable of carrying 186 passengers. The total annual passenger flow on flights between Ukraine and Poland could reach up to 800,000 people.
LOT expects that a significant portion of demand will be driven by the Ukrainian diaspora in Poland.
Restoration of air travel in Ukraine
Talks about resuming air travel between Ukraine and the rest of the world have been ongoing for over a year. Uzhhorod and Lviv have been named as possible airports for reopening.
In addition, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary earlier stated that his company is developing plans that would allow flights to Ukraine to resume within a few weeks after the end of the war.
As previously reported, the Boryspil Airport is ready to resume receiving and dispatching passenger aircraft within a month of Ukrainian airspace reopening. The necessary permits would also need to be obtained.
