LOT Polish Airlines is encountering significant hurdles in expanding operations at Warsaw Chopin Airport (“Okęcie”). Despite the carrier’s ambitions, infrastructure limitations and slot allocation challenges are stifling its growth, pushing it to consider transferring operations to the proposed Central Communication Port in Baranów.
For the summer 2025 season, LOT requested 32,711 new slots to expand its offerings. However, the airport’s slot coordinator, Airport Coordination Limited, approved only 13,344 of these requests, rejecting 41% of applications. Combined with its 60,678 historical slots, LOT will operate 74,698 flights next summer — 323 fewer than in summer 2024 — equating to 79.5% of its original plan.
This limited slot allocation will allow LOT to achieve a 59.69% market share at Chopin Airport, slightly down from previous seasons. While the airline can increase its available seating capacity by 6% (adding 680,651 seats for a total of 10,879,704), operational growth remains restricted by Chopin Airport’s infrastructure, including a terminal at capacity and intersecting runways.
Chopin Airport’s Operational Challenges
The summer season is a critical period for airlines, with heightened demand for flights and increased seat offerings. In summer 2025, Chopin Airport is expected to host 20,653,503 passenger seats, an increase of over 2 million compared to 2024. LOT, as the dominant carrier, will account for 52% of this capacity.
During the winter 2024-2025 season, LOT plans 54,525 operations, offering 7,580,698 seats and capturing 64% of the airport’s traffic. While the winter season remains manageable operationally, the upcoming summer poses challenges due to the surge in demand and existing infrastructural bottlenecks.
Looking Ahead: The Central Communication Port
The constraints at Chopin Airport underline the necessity of the Central Communication Port (CPK) in Baranów, envisioned as a hub capable of supporting LOT’s long-term growth. However, until the CPK is operational, LOT’s expansion plans will remain partially thwarted.
The inability to fully capitalize on summer demand at its home base is a significant setback for LOT’s network development ambitions. The carrier’s market dominance at Chopin Airport persists, but its growth is increasingly constrained by the airport’s physical and operational limitations.
