09/06/2026
The 666 bus service to the Polish seaside resort of Hel is returning three years after religious conservative groups forced a number change.
Nicknamed 'Highway to Hel', a nod to AC/DC's seminal 1979 song and album 'Highway to Hell', the infamous bus connects the southern city of Kraków to Hel on the north coast of Poland.
Formerly run by local company PKS Gdynia, the bus number was changed to 669 in 2023 following pressure from religious groups who accused the bus company of "spreading satanism."
According to the BBC, a PKS Gdynia spokesperson said at the time: "The management board buckled under the weight of letters and requests that were sent to us, maybe not in large numbers, but periodically for many years with a request to change the line number."
Coach operator FlixBus, which has since taken over the route, has now confirmed that the 666 number will be reinstated.
FlixBus spokesperson Aleksander Kalenik told the Polish news service TVN24: "The number 666 was deliberately chosen as a marketing communication element, intended to increase the visibility of the connection on the popular holiday route to Hel."
Iron Maiden, of course, named their 1982 single and album 'The Number of the Beast', and they were met with protests in some US cities on tour at the time.
