March 19 is the fifth day of Operation #LOTdoDomu. From March 15th in total over 12,000 Polish nationals were transported back to Poland on 82 flights. And this is not the end of bringing home those who, due to the spread of coronavirus and the suspension of both air and rail traffic, have not been able to come back home as planned.
Operation #LOTdoDomu was launched by LOT Polish Airlines and, since March 15, the Polish national carrier has been organizing special charter flights to various regions around the globe in order to repatriate Polish nationals. Over the last days, rescue flights have been operated from such destinations as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Norway, Portugal, Morocco, Malta, Thailand, India, Cyprus, Iceland, the United States, Georgia, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Vietnam, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Romania and Turkey. Additional flights are also being planned from countries like the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and the USA, based on estimates of the number of Poles that are returning from these destinations.
All Polish nationals who wish to return to the country may register their request for flight at the websites: LOTdoDomu.com and LOTdoDomu.pl.
Further flights are planned for several days ahead, based on the number of requests registered by Polish nationals wishing to return home. Current lists of destinations from which it is possible to return under the #LOTdoDomu operation are available on the website of LOT Polish Airlines.
“#LOTdoDomu is a non-commercial operation. It is run in co-operation with the Polish government, with an aim to support those Poles who remain far from their homes and families. This is an exceptional situation, and to help Polish citizens is the national carrier’s duty. LOT takes onboard passengers from various countries and does its best to fly wherever Poles have no other way to get out and come back home,” Maciej Wilk, Chief Operational Officer of LOT Polish Airlines explained.
The #LOTdoDomu operation is currently the only way to enable thousands of Polish nationals stranded abroad to return home. It is a huge challenge to make this operation happen, not only because many countries have closed their airspace, but also due to the fact that Poles are being brought back home also from those airports which are not our regular destinations. This requires a tremendous commitment of diplomatic services, obtaining numerous approvals and providing full technical support.
Epidemiological safety is a priority. All travelers returning to Poland under the #LOTtoDomu operation have their body temperature checked and are subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.