– This year, LOT intends to open 15 new connections – said Wojciech Worona, deputy director at LOT for the development of the connections network, on Tuesday during the Connect Aviation congress in Lublin. New connections will include, among others: to San Francisco and Bangkok, as well as from Warsaw to Almaty, Porto and Bologna. This will require new planes.
For comparison, it opened nine new connections in 2025 and eight in 2024. This shows that the state-owned airline is preparing for an acceleration in the market and is trying not to miss it.
Worona added that in 2025, LOT planes carried 11.7 million passengers, i.e. by 9.4 percent more than a year earlier.
— We also plan to grow in 2026. We hope so we will even exceed 13 million passengers – he said. This would mean an increase of 11.1%. rdri.e. larger than in the previous year.
The company, he added, also develops operations from regional ports, including: from Gdańsk and Krakow. – LOT currently operates from virtually all airports in Poland – Worona reported.
LOT Polish Airlines is the 11th airline in the world with the longest tradition – it has been operating since 1929. It offers direct long-haul flights to ports in the United States, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea. The company also operates direct flights to many European capitals. The main shareholder of PLL LOT is the State Treasury.
More flights from Lublin
At the same conference, the President of Lublin Airport, Dariusz Krzowski, informed about plans to develop charter connections from this airport, offered by low-cost airlines and traditional carriers (so-called legacy carriers).
– We look at the Middle East with great interest because Poland is slowly being discovered there as an exotic country – he told journalists.
Read also: LOT is expanding in the USA. Opens a new connection to America
Krzowski talked about plans to expand the parking area at the airport and the so-called turnstiles for larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, as well as the construction of an airport security guard tower. In his opinion, the watchtower would have a dual use: in times of peace it would house a shooting range for security services, and in times of conflict – rooms for the protection of civilians for approximately 800 people.
Lublin Airport is a joint-stock company whose exclusive shareholders are local government units: Lublin commune, Lublin voivodeship, Świdnik city commune and Świdnik poviat. The airport was put into operation in 2012. It has the status of an international airport and can handle aircraft the size of Boeing 767 or Airbus A310.
Connect Aviation international congress
The international Connect Aviation congress started on Tuesday in Lublin. According to the organizers, the event is attended by nearly 800 representatives of the aviation industry, including representatives of airlines and airports as well as international experts.
The congress program includes over 20 industry sessions, B2B meetings and networking sessions. Key issues include: development of regional aviation, cooperation of local governments with carriers, strengthening the role of Lublin as a regional air hub, the impact of CPK on the aviation market, carriers' strategies, trends on the Mediterranean market and challenges facing small airports. The congress will last until Thursday.
