Polska Grupa Lotnicza (PGL), the state-owned aviation group that owns LOT Polish Airlines, plans to set up a dedicated cargo airline under its strategy for 2026 to 2032. According to Aviation24, the group's published roadmap names a new "PGL Cargo" business segment and makes the development of profitable all-cargo services a strategic priority, alongside LOT's existing freight business in the bellies of its passenger aircraft.
The plan would take the Polish group into dedicated freighter operations for the first time in its current form. It is still a planned operation rather than an airline in service, and the sources reviewed by Aviation24 do not name an aircraft type, fleet size, route network, operating base or firm launch date.
Freighters, terminals and a widebody maintenance base
The strategy pairs a dedicated freighter fleet with investment on the ground. Aviation24 reports that cargo-terminal development would be handled through PGL's ground-handling subsidiary LS Airport Services, while maintenance arm LOTAMS is developing a maintenance base for widebody passenger and cargo aircraft at Rzeszów-Jasionka in south-eastern Poland.
PGL argues that the investments would strengthen Poland's position in Central and Eastern European logistics and reduce the country's dependence on foreign cargo providers. In other words, the group wants more of the freight that moves to and from Poland to fly on Polish-controlled aircraft rather than on capacity bought from other operators.
A commercial airline with a strategic role
Polish media reports cited by Aviation24 quote PGL chief executive Radosław Stępień as saying the proposed airline would combine commercial freight flying with a strategic transport role during emergencies. In a crisis, its aircraft could help move essential supplies, equipment or humanitarian aid. Stępień has also indicated that operations could begin sooner than the market expects, although he has not given a timetable.
That dual purpose links the commercial plan to national resilience. A freighter operator inside a Polish state-owned group would give the country airlift capacity it can call on directly in an emergency, instead of relying only on chartered aircraft from other operators.
Part of a wider group overhaul
The cargo initiative is one element of a broader programme to integrate PGL's maintenance, handling, training and financing activities into a more coordinated group. It is also tied to the group's preparations for Port Polska, the planned new central airport for Poland, which is intended to become the country's main air hub and a significant cargo gateway.
LOT's long-haul passenger fleet is built around the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, whose lower deck already carries freight on routes to North America and Asia. A dedicated cargo airline would let the group sell main-deck capacity and fly freight on schedules set by cargo demand rather than by passenger timetables.
Key questions remain open: which freighter type PGL will choose, whether the aircraft will be bought or leased, how many it will need, and which hub the operation will use before Port Polska opens. Those details will decide how quickly PGL Cargo can move from a line in a strategy document to aircraft on the ramp. For now, the plan signals that Poland's flag-carrier group wants a bigger share of the freight moving through its region and more control over national airlift.
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