Biznes Fakty
Pope Francis' Funeral. There Will Be No Additional Air or Train Connections from Poland to Rome
In light of Pope Francis’ funeral, there will be no extra flights to Rome or special train services to the Italian capital, according to announcements from the carriers.
LOT Polish Airlines has indicated that it does not intend to schedule extra flights to Rome due to the Pope’s funeral; tickets for Saturday are already fully booked, as stated by the airline.
Additionally, PKP Intercity confirmed that it has no plans to launch a special train to the Italian capital.
Funeral of Pope Francis
Pope Francis passed away on Monday at the age of 88. The funeral is set for Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. The ceremony will commence in St. Peter’s Square, after which the coffin containing the pope’s remains will be transported to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major following the mass.
Krzysztof Moczulski, a spokesperson for PLL LOT, stated that LOT Polish Airlines will not be adding any extra flights from Poland to Italy’s capital.
– Flights to Rome are being conducted according to the planned schedule. There are only a few tickets remaining for Friday, while Saturday flights are completely booked – Moczulski noted.
LOT operates daily on the route from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Rome-Fiumicino, with one or two flights per day.
Journey to Rome
Gabriele Imperiale, the Corporate Communications Manager for Wizz Air, mentioned that the airline, understanding the significance of this occasion for many, is „making every effort” to facilitate travel to Rome for those wishing to pay their respects to the Pope shortly. Imperiale reported a surge in interest for flights to Rome, including from Poland.
– Although it is challenging to determine the exact reason for this trend, we have noticed a noticeable rise in bookings for upcoming travel, Imperiale remarked.
Wizz Air operates flights to Rome from six Polish cities: Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Poznan, Rzeszow, and Warsaw. Presently, the airline provides daily services from Krakow, Katowice, and Warsaw, twice weekly from Rzeszow, three times weekly from Gdansk, and four times weekly from Poznan.
According to the booking system of the airline, several flights from Warsaw to Rome this week are already fully booked. On Friday, Wizz Air is offering two flights from Warsaw to the Italian capital, both of which are sold out.
What about the train to Rome?
PKP Intercity has also stated it will not be organizing a special train for Pope Francis’ funeral, as per remarks from spokesperson Maciej Dutkiewicz.
PAP also inquired about the possibility of adding extra connections to Rome from Ryanair, which provides flights to the Italian capital from six Polish cities, but no immediate response was received. As per Ryanair’s booking system, tickets for both Friday flights from Warsaw (Modlin) to Rome are sold out.
The funeral will last from Wednesday to Saturday.
Public memorial services for Pope Francis will commence in the Vatican on Wednesday. The Office of Liturgical Celebrations announced that at 9 a.m. that day, there will be a ceremony to transfer the coffin containing Francis’ body in a procession from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, where it currently rests, to St. Peter’s Basilica. There, the faithful will have the opportunity to pay their respects to the pope.
Several national leaders have announced their intention to attend the funeral mass on Saturday, including US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky along with his wife Olena. President Andrzej Duda and his spouse Agata Kornhauser-Duda will also be present at Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, as announced by Wojciech Kolarski, head of the presidential Office of International Policy, on Tuesday.
