Rafał Milczarski cancelled. He is not the president of LOT and the Polish Aviation Group

The source money.pl reported in the early afternoon that Milczarski had said goodbye to two positions. This information was confirmed in the announcement. As we unofficially established, board members had to show up unexpectedly at the board meeting of Polska Grupa Lotnicza. The last supervisory board meeting of PGL took place last week and the next was due to be held in February 2023.

The Supervisory Boards of PLL LOT and PGL today decided to dismiss Rafał Milczarski as chairman of the board of both companies. The members of the Supervisory Boards would like to thank them for their cooperation and contribution to the development of PLL LOT and PGL in recent years.

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– In the end! Extremely incompetent and hostile to the employee president. The question is whether he will be replaced by someone knowledgeable and knowledgeable about aviation. And especially someone who doesn’t take it out on employees and doesn’t treat them as a necessary evil. We also hope for the liquidation of the “junk cars” and the amicable conclusion of about 100 court cases – says money.pl Agnieszka Szelągowska, president of the aviation personnel union, commenting on the decision to dismiss Milczarski.

It was during the tenure of Rafał Milczarski in 2018 that the strike of the pilots and cabin crew of LOT Polish Airlines took place. One of his more controversial decisions was disciplinary dismissal of 67 people participating in the strike. Their reinstatement was one of the terms of the final settlement. From 18 October to 1 November 2018, the national airline had to cancel 130 flights.

Even the Union Alternative does not hide its satisfaction with the dismissal of Milczarski. “He should have been fired a long time ago” – reads the statement by Piotr Szumlewicz, president of the union. “We appeal to the government to use the dismissal for a new opening at LOT Polish Airlines,” added the trade unionist.

Adrian Furgalski, chairman of the TOR Economic Advisors Team, regrets that the supervisory boards have not explained the reasons for this decision.

However, we are talking about a significant company for the economy. Rafał Milczarski will be remembered mainly for his rather difficult character and sharp approach to employee issues. However, that shouldn’t overshadow the entire period since his appointment in 2016, Furgalski said in response to questions from money.pl.

Remember that Milczarski implemented a recovery program largely prepared by his predecessors. – He also acted to raise the company’s prominence by attempting to buy out another carrier, namely Condor. This decision has been discontinued by PGL due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsequent opening of successive destinations and the consequent increase in the number of passengers made it possible to break down the barrier of 10 million travelers in 2019 – adds Furgalski.

During Milczarski’s tenure, the national carrier began developing a second hub at Budapest Airport, from where it has flown to, among others, the United States and South Korea. Only Milczarski was a proponent of building the Central Communication Port (CPK). Furgalski also points out that LOT, under the Milczarski government, was the initiator of the campaign to abolish US visas for Poles, which has been taking place since November 2019.

Rafał Milczarski became CEO of LOT Polish Airlines in January 2016, just months after United Right took over. Two years later, he also took over as chairman of the Polish Aviation Group. PGL – 100 percent. owned by the State Treasury – became the new owner of the national carrier and its previously demerged companies – LS Airports Services and LOT AMS.

Rafał Milczarski is a graduate of the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Economics. After graduation, he worked in the Marine and Railway Logistics Department of Foster Yeoman Ltd. He co-founded Kolej Bałtycka SA, he was also co-founder of Freightliner PL. Since 2017 he has been the head of the AIRE Association, which associates European carriers. In 2019-2020 he was a board member of the International Air Transport Association, IATA.

By decision of both supervisory boards until a new chairman is appointed her functions in PLL LOT will be carried out by the chairwoman of the supervisory board Katarzyna Lewandowska (head of the supervisory department at the Ministry of State Assets), and in PGL by the chairwoman Elżbieta Bugaj (economist, president of Energa Obrót).

Dominik Sipiński, an analyst at ch-aviation.com and Polityka Insight, has already indicated that the personal separation of the two positions could be desirable from the point of view of PGL and LOT.

If Polska Grupa Lotnicza were to be taken seriously, the holding would not have to have the same president as LOT. PGL should not be reduced to the role of implementing LOT’s interests, but acting for the benefit of all its companies, and their interests can sometimes be contradictory, he told money.pl before the decision to recall Milczarski was made.