LOT Dreamliner Returns to Warsaw After Mid‑Air Fault

The news in Polish

1. Punta
   Nazwa własna – pierwsza część nazwy miejscowości turystycznej Punta Cana na Dominikanie. ↩︎
2. Cana
   Nazwa własna – druga część nazwy miejscowości turystycznej Punta Cana na Dominikanie. ↩︎
3. lotnisko  (n.)
   Miejsce, gdzie startują i lądują samoloty, z pasami startowymi i budynkami dla pasażerów. ↩︎
4. technik  (m.)
   Osoba, która ma specjalistyczną wiedzę techniczną i naprawia sprzęt lub maszyny. ↩︎
5. usterka  (f.)
   Niewielkie uszkodzenie lub problem techniczny w urządzeniu albo maszynie. ↩︎
6. opóźnienie  (n.)
   Sytuacja, gdy coś zaczyna się lub kończy później, niż było planowane. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Why did the LOT plane flying from Warsaw to Punta Cana return to Warsaw?

Question 2: What happened to the passengers after the technician fixed the problem?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
Punta	Punta Cana
Cana	Punta Cana
lotnisko  (n.)	airport
technik  (m.)	technician
usterka  (f.)	fault / defect
opóźnienie  (n.)	delay

Read the full story

A LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flying from Warsaw to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic returned to Warsaw on 7 February after pilots detected a technical problem during the flight. The wide-body aircraft, operating flight LO6285, landed safely at Chopin Airport.

According to LOT spokesperson Krzysztof Moczulski, the crew noticed a technical fault en route and decided to turn back as a safety measure. Initial information from the airline suggested that a replacement aircraft would be prepared for the onward journey, with a new departure time around early afternoon.

After the Dreamliner was inspected in Warsaw, airline technicians determined that the fault could be repaired on site. Moczulski later clarified that the problem had been removed more quickly than expected and that passengers would continue their journey on the same aircraft once refuelling and checks were completed.

Reports from Polish media differed slightly on the number of people on board, with estimates ranging from more than 200 to around 300 passengers. All sources, however, stated that the aircraft landed without incident and that passengers remained safe while waiting for the repaired plane to depart again for the Caribbean holiday destination.

This incident follows another Dreamliner-related disruption on the same route earlier in February. At that time, a LOT aircraft scheduled to fly from Punta Cana to Warsaw experienced a technical issue during preparations on the ground. The defect could not be fixed at the Dominican airport, and the return flight was cancelled, leaving 293 passengers temporarily stranded.

Those travellers, many of them returning from holidays organised by the tour operator Itaka, had their departure postponed until the next day. Media reports noted an approximately 15-hour delay compared with the original timetable and described difficulties in arranging hotel accommodation because of limited rooms and other disrupted flights in the area.

The two cases have drawn attention in Poland because they involve the same long-haul aircraft type, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which LOT uses on popular holiday charter flights to the Dominican Republic. LOT currently operates a small fleet of these jets on long-distance routes. The airline has not publicly detailed the exact nature of the technical issues in either event, but has emphasised that safety procedures were followed and that the decisions to return or cancel flights were taken out of caution.

For travellers, the events highlight how technical checks and in-flight monitoring can lead to sudden route changes, even when flights are already in the air. In this case, passengers to Punta Cana faced delays but ultimately resumed their journey after engineers at Warsaw’s main airport completed the necessary repairs and cleared the Dreamliner for take-off again.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish through various types of online courses with experienced Polish tutors.