Flights to Poland to launch from London City next year

London City Airport will get its only scheduled flights to Poland early next year when LOT launches a twice daily service between the Docklands and Warsaw.

The Polish airline is acquiring four new Embraer 190 jets to operate the service from January 7, 2019.

Flights will depart Warsaw for London City at 7.15am every day except Sundays and at 4.15pm daily except Saturdays. Flights will depart London City daily at 9.30am (except Sundays) and at 6.30pm every day except Saturdays.

The airline said the schedule enabled business travellers from Warsaw and several other cities including Vinius, Kiev, Lviv, Riga, Bucharest, Larnaca and Tblisi to complete their trip to London within one working day.

It also expects the route to appeal to leisure travellers taking city breaks in either direction, or travelling onwards from Warsaw to many eastern destinations, including Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing.

Director of corporate communications Adrian Kubicki said: "LOT has a long lasting history of operations to London Heathrow, where we are flying three times a day. Now we are opening the new chapter by putting two daily flights to London City into our offer.

"London City is the most convenient airport for those passengers willing to get to the City of London in the shortest and most comfortable way. I am the most certain that this new connection will be appreciated by our passengers particularly from CEE region and is going to be one of the most successful routes in our constantly growing network".

London City Airport chief commercial officer Richard Hill said: "For the first time ever, a regular service between London City and Poland touches down with LOT Polish Airlines, boosting connectivity between London and Warsaw and adding another major European capital city to our route network.

"LOT’s arrival is a huge gain for London City Airport and its passengers, offering a gateway for trade and tourism in Central Europe and onward connections to Asia, and demonstrating the airport’s commitment to attracting new routes, greater choice and more airlines ahead of our £480 million development.

"It also demonstrates that, despite Brexit, London remains open for business and connections between Poland will continue to be vital for each country’s economy.

"The fact that Poland’s flag carrier has strategically chosen London’s most central airport to expand operations in the city, and is making a significant investment in compatible aircraft to do so, shows confidence in the speed and convenience of the London City experience and our long-term growth prospects."

The new Embraer E-190 jets will carry 106 passengers.