The number of take-offs and landings at Polish airports has not yet been restricted, but the low-cost airline Ryanair has already lodged a complaint with the EU Commission. It is believed that the Polish government's contingency plan would favor the state carrier Lot.

The background to this is a tariff dispute at Pansa air traffic control. Salaries are to be reduced by up to 70 percent. As a result, 208 of the 170 pilots at the Warsaw locations alone declared their withdrawal on April 30, 2022. If there is no agreement with the union or the air traffic controllers by then, there is from May 1, 2022 acute shortage of staff.

The Polish Civil Aviation Authority has issued an order allowing the number of take-offs and landings from Warsaw-Chopin and Modlin to be limited to 180 movements per day. The largest provider in Poland, Lot, expects a significant impact on passengers. In May 2022 alone, numerous flights would have to be canceled without replacement. Similar effects are expected at the other Polish airports.

The government has drawn up an emergency concept to ensure basic services with 32 destinations. Ryanair is bothered by the fact that the lion's share is to be served by the state Lot. This is seen as an inadmissible preference for this provider.

“Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has arbitrarily designated 32 destinations from Warsaw that will be served with priority should the expected capacity bottleneck occur. This discriminatory selection means Ryanair will only be able to fly two routes out of Warsaw in May, while it will serve Lot 19,” the low-cost airline said in a statement. According to the Lowcosters, the complaint in Brussels should lead to more routes.

There are still hopes in Poland that an agreement can be reached with the controllers before May 1, 2022 and that as many as possible will withdraw their resignations. Both Eurocontrol and Lot have repeatedly warned that without a solution, Polish air traffic control could face collapse.