Resumption of Flights by Polish Airline LOT for the Winter Season
The recent announcement by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism regarding the resumption of LOT Polish Airlines flights to Larnaca Airport this winter did not come as a surprise to tourism stakeholders. Demand for Cyprus from Poland, a country with a population of 38 million, has been steadily increasing.
It is no coincidence that Poland has now become the third-largest market for Cypriot tourism, following only the United Kingdom and Israel.
Flights by Polish Airline LOT
LOT, the national carrier of Poland, already operates flights to Paphos Airport. However, starting this winter season, the airline will resume flights to Larnaca Airport after a two-year hiatus, as announced by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
According to the Deputy Ministry, LOT has decided to restart flights to Larnaca with a frequency of four flights per week during the winter season. They also plan to increase the frequency to six flights per week during the summer season of 2025.
Increase in Weekly Flights from Poland to Cyprus
Overall, the number of weekly flights from Poland to Cyprus this summer is expected to reach 50. This includes 30 additional flights per week from seven Polish airports to Larnaca Airport. Last summer, there were 33 weekly flights from Poland to Cyprus.
The airlines operating flights from Poland to Larnaca Airport are Wizzair, Enter Air Spolka, and Buzz Air. For reference, the weekly flights from abroad to Larnaca Airport in July and August are estimated to be around 660, while Paphos Airport sees about 260 to 270 flights.
Regarding LOT’s decision, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis expressed satisfaction, stating that it is a positive development, just like the addition of any new route by any airline.
Recently, several airlines have announced new flight schedules to Cyprus: Cy Airways from Barcelona, EasyJet from Amsterdam, Wizzair from Milan, Royal Jordanian from Amman, and Wizzair has increased its flight frequencies from 11 different airports.
Currently, the airline operates three flights per week to Cyprus, specifically to Paphos Airport. In addition to LOT, Ryanair also operates flights from Poland to Paphos. Together, the two airlines run 17 flights per week from six airports in Poland to Paphos Airport. The number of weekly flights from Poland to Paphos will increase from 17 to 20 in August and will remain at this level until the end of October, according to the flight schedule published by Hermes Airports.
Increasing Tourist Arrivals
The growth of the Polish market is evident in the Statistical Service’s data on tourist arrivals. Last year, 273,872 Polish tourists visited Cyprus, compared to 186,000 in 2022, with Polish visitors accounting for 7.1% of the total arrivals, which amounted to 3,845,652.
In the first half of this year, tourist arrivals from Poland increased to 146,924, compared to 121,134 in the same period last year, making up 8.89% of total visits from January to June 2024.
This represents a double-digit increase of 21% compared to the first half of last year. In June alone, arrivals from Poland increased by about 20%, reaching 36,000 compared to 30,000 in the same month last year.
Notably, total arrivals this June amounted to 482,261, compared to 456,985 in June 2023, marking a 5.5% increase. For the period from January to June 2024, tourist arrivals reached 1,652,475 compared to 1,613,690 in the corresponding period of 2023, showing a 2.4% increase.
Polish Tourists
The prospects for the Polish market this year were highlighted by Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis last year during his visits to Warsaw.
At that time, speaking to “Phileleftheros,” he mentioned that this year’s increase from Poland would be in double digits, reflecting the planned increase in flights from the country, which has indeed materialized this year.
