Poland prepares public aid package for national air carrier

The Ministry of State Assets has prepared a support package for Poland's national air carrier PLL LOT, Deputy Prime Minister and Assets Minister Jacek Sasin has announced.

"LOT has found itself in a very difficult situation, there are practically no air connections today, but the costs remain (...) That is why we have prepared a huge support package for PLL LOT, foreseeing multi-billion public aid for this company," Minister Sasin said on the Catholic television station TRWAM and Radio Maryja.

The deputy prime minister said that during the pandemic, many sectors of the economy, especially those in which State Treasury companies are the dominant entities, are experiencing enormous problems.

"Here we are seeing a huge collapse and we must take action to avoid the worst, that is, bankruptcy," said Sasin.

Back in June, Sasin denied that LOT may declare bankruptcy. "We're determined to save LOT, just like the governments of other European countries are determined to save their airlines, offering aid to those airlines," Sasin said, quoting the examples of Lufthansa, Alitalia and Air France.

In 2019, for the first time in its history, LOT carried more than 10 million passengers in a single year.