LOT Polish Airlines has begun restoring its network in London’s City Airport (LCY) this week, with the resumption of flights between City and the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. The double-daily service is now operational as frequently as ever, and with the same capacity as it has always had. This makes it a real rarity in the current aviation market.
Flights resume
Last year, on 1st May 2019, LOT Polish Airlines launched a new route that would expand its network out of London City Airport. The new route was a twice-daily service between the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, and London’s smallest airport, London City. It is a PSO route, which Lithuania is paying for to stimulate business investment that comes from the UK.
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This was the third route that LOT Polish launched out of London City Airport, following earlier launches of flights from Warsaw and Budapest. The launches helped London City post a record in passenger traffic last year.
LOT had two scheduled services that operate between London City Airport and Vilnius. They are flights LO272 and LO274. Both of these services are now restored, with LO274 resuming as a daily service on Monday 31st August, and LO272 resuming on Tuesday 1st September, also daily.
The resumption follows several months during which the route was suspended, which also includes a period during which London City Airport was fully closed.
A happy day for London City
The resumption of this two-daily route comes as such good news for London City Airport that it has even posted a news release to mark the occasion. City Airport called the route a “popular” one.
Richard Hill, the Chief Commercial Officer of London City Airport, commented:
“It’s great to welcome back LOT Polish Airlines to London City Airport and I’m pleased to see another important connection between two European capital cities restored. Connections like these are crucial for our recovery from this pandemic, allowing people to quickly and safely travel for work or to see their family.
He also added:
“And so it was encouraging to see the strong demand for the service. We hope to see LOT build on this success and resume more routes at City Airport very soon. We’re working hard with them and other airlines to make this possible.”
To mark the occasion, LOT Polish Airlines staff were present at the arrival ceremony too. They were David Bentley, who is LOT’s Country Sales Manager for the UK and Ireland, and Robert Lofts, who is the Airport Station Manager for LOT, also for the UK and Ireland.
Do you think the route is likely to remain operational in its current form, as a two-daily service, with the same capacity and frequency it had before the pandemic outbreak? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.
