LOT Polish Airlines
flag air carrier of Poland and Star Alliance member
LOT Polish Airlines, legally Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (Polish pronunciation: [lɔt], flight), is the flag carrier airline of Poland. A founding member of IATA, it is one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation. With a fleet of 96 aircraft as of July 2026, LOT is Europe's 22nd largest operator by the total number of passengers scheduled, serving 102 destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. The airline was founded on 29 December 1928 by the Polish government during the Second Polish Republic as a self-governing limited liability corporation, taking over existing domestic airlines Aerolot (founded in 1922) and Aero (founded in 1925). LOT officially commenced operations on 1 January 1929.
In the 1930s, LOT rapidly expanded its network and modernized its fleet, moving to the new Warsaw Okęcie Airport in 1934. The outbreak of World War II forced the suspension of operations, but the airline was reestablished in 1945 as a state enterprise. Reflecting Poland's status as a communist state, the post-war fleet relied exclusively on Soviet-built aircraft. During this era, LOT rebuilt its European and Middle Eastern routes, eventually launching transatlantic flights in the early 1970s.
In the post-1989 era, LOT transitioned to Western aircraft.
The public source identifies “LOT Polish Airlines” as flag air carrier of Poland and Star Alliance member. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Polish, Airlines and flag.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “LOT Polish Airlines”, the useful work is to connect “flag air carrier of Poland and Star Alliance member” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q204268. VIAF identifies the subject as 264327700. The Library of Congress control number is no2001098740. 1 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2026, 1928, 1922 and 1925.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “LOT Polish Airlines”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow LOT Polish Airlines primary sources, LOT Polish Airlines archive and Polish research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “LOT Polish Airlines”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “LOT Polish Airlines” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.