WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The speaker of the Polish parliament says he is resigning after a scandal erupted over his and his family's private use of a government plane.

The affair was threatening to damage the reputation of the right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

Speaker Marek Kuchcinski made his announcement Thursday standing alongside party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Polish politics have for days been consumed by an affair dubbed "Air Kuchcinski" after the media and political opponents revealed that the speaker frequently flew by government jet from Warsaw to his home city of Rzeszow, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) to the south.

Kaczynski has since tightened rules about the official use of government flights.