Lithuanian Airports continue to successfully increase the number of destinations and passengers travelling through all three country’s airports. In August, number of passengers at all airports increased even by 49 percent compared to the same period last year, while number of flights increased by almost a third. By the end of the year, Lithuanian Airports hope to achieve even more ambitious performance records by servicing more than 6 million passengers and operating more than 60 thousand flights.

“Now that summer is over, we are excited and happy to say that the work carried out by the Lithuanian Airports and the results achieved show great effort towards ensuring solid growth and even more efficient operation standards. Good results encourage us to work even harder to meet the challenges ahead and improve Lithuania’s accessibility by air so that we can offer important and attractive routes to the business sector, as well as Lithuanian and foreign passengers,” says Executive Director of Lithuanian Airports Laura Joffė.

In August, Lithuanian Airports serviced a total of more than 600,000 passengers, which is by 200,000 passengers more compared to the same period last year. Vilnius Airport showed the highest growth rates. In August, a total of 480,000 passengers travelled through Vilnius Airport, which is almost by 340,000 more compared to the same period last year, when major reconstruction works were still under way and most of the airport’s functions were taken over by Kaunas Airport.

Kaunas Airport is the second largest Lithuanian airport which continues to grow its operations successfully. As much as 97,000 passengers travelled through Kaunas Airport. Laura Joffė noted that although the numbers are lower compared to the same period last year when the largest passenger flow was still concentrated at Kaunas Airport due to the reconstruction works mentioned, passenger and flight numbers of airlines continuing to operate at Kaunas Airport have been growing since the beginning of the year. Palanga Airport has also shown stable and promising growth in passenger numbers. More than 38,000 passengers travelled through it during the same period.

In August, compared to the same period in 2017, Lithuanian Airports also offered a considerably larger variety of destinations. New routes from Vilnius Airport include Astana, Athens, Gdansk, Agadir, Nurnberg, Cologne, Corfu Island and Milan Malpensa airports. SCAT Airlines started its operations from Vilnius Airport. Kaunas Airport offered its passengers new routes to Burgas, Rimini, Warsaw and Girona. LOT Polish Airlines also started its activities at Kaunas Airport.

The increased number of passengers was partly due to the fact that flights to certain destinations were operated more often while some routes were flown using a larger aircraft. At Palanga Airport, the number of flights to Riga and Warsaw increased while flights to London were carried out using a larger aircraft. At Kaunas Airport, flights to London and Norway were also carried out using a larger aircraft. At Vilnius Airport, larger aircraft were also employed while the number of flights to Helsinki, Warsaw, Stockholm, Riga, Dublin and Moscow increased.

These significant accomplishments of Lithuanian Airports are the result of the company’s continuous efforts and successful negotiations with various airlines. Growing numbers were also supported by improved economic performance and low flight fares.

“In August, the number of flights operated by Lithuanian Airports grew by almost 29 percent. More than 4,000 flights were operated through Vilnius Airport. The number of flights at Kaunas Airport came close to 900. In August, Palanga Airport showed great numbers as nearly 500 flights were carried out there. Rapid growth of Palanga Airport and the fact that the airport will soon approach its maximum capacity confirms that our strategic decisions in determining the route map were correct,” states Executive Director of Lithuanian Airports Laura Joffė.

According to the Executive Director of Lithuanian Airports, excellent results shown by Lithuanian Airports were also complemented by the growing numbers of transported freight which grew by 42 percent compared to the same period last year. Most of the cargo, i.e., over a thousand tons, was transported through Vilnius airport because earlier this year, Vilnius Airport successfully attracted a new customer Turkish Cargo which now has become a regular cargo carrier. Kaunas Airport comes second with 155 tonnes of transported cargo and Palanga Airport is third with 0.1 tonne. It is planned that the amount of cargoes will continue to grow successfully.

About Lithuanian Airports

The Lithuanian airport network includes three airports in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Palanga. During 2017, they serviced 5.2 million passengers and 55 thousand flights. During the summer season, 17 airlines organize direct flights in 79 regular directions to 67 cities in 29 countries. Based on data of the Airports Council International (ACI Europe), Lithuanian Airports contribute to the Lithuania’s GDP by 2.5 percent. 

Last updated: 2019 02 18 14:14
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