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Polish airline LOT suspends flights to Beijing

10.10.2024 12:45
Polish airline LOT has announced it will suspend direct flights between Warsaw and Beijing for the 2024-2025 winter season.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

The airline's spokesman Krzysztof Moczulski said the decision was due to unsatisfactory sales results as well as a "less competitive offer" compared to airlines flying shorter routes.

In an interview with Polish state news agency PAP, Moczulski said that, in the coming days, passengers who have already purchased tickets for the canceled routes will receive alternative travel options, such as flights with Air China, allowing them to reach their destination.

Other airlines, including Germany's Lufthansa and British Airways, have also introduced similar flight reductions.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the European Union has banned Russian airlines from flying over its territory. In response, Russia closed its airspace to Western carriers.

As a result, flights from Europe to the Far East must take longer, more circuitous routes, leading to increased travel costs, higher fuel consumption and ultimately higher ticket prices.

Meanwhile, Chinese airlines, which are still allowed to fly over Russian airspace, can offer shorter routes and more competitive fares.

LOT Polish Airlines is canceling its flights from Warsaw to Beijing for the 2024/2025 winter season. LOT Polish Airlines is canceling its flights from Warsaw to Beijing for the 2024/2025 winter season (PAP/Jacek Turczyk)

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Source: IAR/PAP/LOT