The carrier, which flew to Ljubljana in the past, will fly between the two capitals six days a week.

The carrier is counting on business passengers, tourists and on connecting flights to remoter destinations, according to LOT Polish Airlines representative Adrian Kubicki.

He stressed that the Polish carrier wanted to become the first choice for Slovenian travellers needing connections to Toronto, New York, Chicago and Beijing. "They will no longer have to travel through overcrowded and complex airport hubs in Western Europe," he added.

LOT will fly an 80-seat Bombardier between the capitals on all days except on Thursdays, with Slovenia's Adria Airways connecting Ljubljana and Warsaw three times a week. "Adria is our competitor, but also our partner. I think we will have no trouble filling the seats between us," Kubicki added.

Polish Ambassador to Slovenia Pawel Czerwinski moreover noted that better connections will have a significant impact on relationships between the countries.

"The two countries are almost neighbours, but Poles and Slovenians don't know each other well enough," he said. Czerwinski added that there were still many opportunities for business cooperation and too few Slovenian tourists visited his country.

LOT plans on expanding its network, with Ljubljana being one of the first after the company underwent "a painful but successful restructuring", Kubicki moreover explained.

Along with the flights to Ljubljana, the company, which carries around five million passengers a year and boasts one of the youngest fleets in Europe, also launched flights to Luxembourg, Athens, Beirut and Nice.

On the other hand, the Ljubljana Airport is happy to welcome foreign carriers, with an Aegean Airlines connection between Ljubljana and Athens coming in June.

In a yearly comparison, the number of passengers grew by 10% last year, while the airport operator expects further growth of 3.5% this year.