LOT cancels four routes for winter due to fuel costs and competition
Polish carrier LOT Polish Airlines has suspended four European routes for the winter season – from Warsaw to Bologna and from Krakow to Madrid, Barcelona and Rome. The airline plans to resume flights on these routes only in April 2027.
LOT Polish Airlines has announced the cancellation of flights on four European routes for the duration of the winter schedule. Passengers will be left without connections between Warsaw and Bologna, as well as between Krakow and Madrid, Barcelona and Rome.
According to the carrier, service on all four routes should resume in April 2027.
Cancelled routes
- Warsaw – Bologna
- Krakow – Madrid
- Krakow – Barcelona
- Krakow – Rome
According to LOT, the decision has two main causes. The first is high jet fuel prices, which are significantly raising airlines' operating costs.
- JET-A1 price in Europe
- over USD 200/barrel according to IATA monitoring
- Fuel share of costs
- rose from 25% to 40% year-on-year rise among European carriers
According to IATA monitoring, the price of JET-A1 fuel in Europe is higher than in the rest of the world, where it exceeds 200 dollars per barrel, which is also reflected in the cost structure of European airlines.
The second reason is pressure from low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air, which offer strong competition on the same routes from regional Polish airports. LOT therefore cannot significantly raise ticket prices without risking a loss of passengers, which would make operating the routes unprofitable during the weaker winter season.
This is not the first time LOT has scaled back winter operations. The carrier previously suspended two routes from Gdansk as well as some flights to the Middle East, which Airways.cz will cover in a separate article.
The cuts to LOT's winter schedule were reported by Airways.cz in a story by author Tomáš Hampl, accompanied by a photo of the Polish carrier's Embraer 190 aircraft at Krakow Airport.