Polish Airports State Enterprise receives EUR 28.12 mln in gov't aid

The Polish Airports State Enterprise (PPL) has received PLN 125.8 million (EUR 28.12 million) in state aid to compensate for the banning of flights and an exemption from tax on 2019's profits, a spokesman for Warsaw's Chopin Airport has told PAP.

PLN 59.4 million (EUR 13.27 million) of the aid is support for Chopin due to the cancellation of flights and PLN 54.5 million (EUR 12.18 million) is in exemption from the 15-percent payment to the state treasury on the enterprise's profits from 2019. A further PLN 11.6 million (EUR 2.59 million) is co-financing for workers' wages.

"From January to September this year, PPL noted a fall in income of 54 percent in comparison to the same period of 2019," Piotr Rudzki told PAP. "In connection with the difficult situation, PPL has used the possibility of aid offered by the Polish government."

The spokesman added that the funds would allow PPL to cover some of its operational costs.

He also said Chopin airport has been one of the enterprises hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. He said the aid was made available under the so-called 'Anti-Crisis Shield 2.0' law passed in April 2020 and that the tax exemption would also apply to 2020.