The Polish national airline carrier LOT plans to reinitiate flights to countries which are part of the Schengen Zone starting on July 1 that will include 20 European destination cities.

Regular international flight connections were first cancelled and suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

LOT’s resumption of flights in Europe will see seven flights were week to Prague, Düsseldorf, Vilnius and Budapest and six flights per week to Berlin.

Additionally, five flights will be offered to Vienna, Brussels and Kiev; four connections per week to Amsterdam and Bucharest; three flights per week to Barcelona, Tbilisi and Oslo; two flights per week to Split and Dubrovnik, and at least one flight per week to Zadar, Podgorica, Corfu, Chania and Varna.

Two connections to and from Budapest will also resume during the two-week period to Varna and Dubrovnik, which are popular tourist destinations, and will be held once a week during the weekend.

LOT will also maintain its schedule of 30 domestic flights per day.

Many opposition politicians have claimed that due to the pandemic crisis, LOT will have to file for bankruptcy. Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Marcin Horała stated that there is “no way that LOT will go bankrupt”.

“Perhaps, for example Lufthansa or other carriers would like very much for such claims to spread throughout the world because this would harm LOT of course,” he said.

He admitted that while the company will not be liquidated and employees fired in massive numbers, LOT will have to undertake certain legal and cost-cutting actions due to the dire situation in the airline industry.

The minister added that LOT’s current management was extremely effective and turned the carrier into the most aggressively and fastest developing airline in Europe.

Horała believes that it will be necessary for LOT to receive financial help from the government. He pointed out that Lufthansa received €9 billion from the German government, which is even more than the Polish government spends on education.