LOTAMS Retains Most Mechanics, Continues Work On Second Base

By the second week of October, European domestic daily flights were down almost 60% from year-ago levels, according to RadarBox. LOT Polish Airlines flights were down almost exactly 60%, in line with this general trend.

Nevertheless, LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services is bullish on the future, has kept most of its staff, and continues work on a second maintenance base outside Warsaw. 

“The situation on the MRO market is slowly stabilizing and returning to normal,” argues LOTAMS spokesperson Eliza Mosionek. She notes that European airlines have launched international flights and, while the MRO market has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic form, “interest in our services has increased significantly.”

LOTAMs offers a full range of technical support, including base and line maintenance, and aesthetic and workshop support. Mosionek predicts all lines of business will move together as demand increases.

The Polish MRO continued its activities during the pandemic. “Some employees took special leave for childcare,” Mosionek notes. However, “We successfully managed to keep almost the entire technical staff.”

LOTAMS is doing everything it can to maintain full employment. For example, it is continuing work on a modern MRO base, including hangars for narrow and widebodies, at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeast Poland. 

This project, announced in 2019, will be built on 13 hectares of airport land and was set to be finished in 2022. Ultimately, it will require more than $130 million in investment and employ 1,500 people, at least according to the original plan. Three hangars will accommodate four widebodies and five narrowbodies.

Apart from the slump in demand, the only major changes in LOTAMS operations have been due to the epidemic: reorganization of working time: minimizing people-to-people contacts, using disposable gloves and appointment of a crisis management staff.