Vilnius Airport

Vilnius Airport (IATA: VNO, ICAO: EYVI) (Lithuanian: Vilniaus oro uostas) is the international airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located 5.9 km (3.7 mi) south[2] of the city. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic. With one runway and 5 million passengers a year.[1] Vilnius International Airport serves as a base for airBaltic, Ryanair, and Wizz Air. The airport is managed by state-owned enterprise Lithuanian Airports under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.[3]

Vilnius International Airport

Tarptautinis Vilniaus oro uostas
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerLithuanian government
OperatorSE "Lithuanian Airports"
ServesVilnius, Lithuania
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL646 ft / 197 m
Coordinates54°38′13″N 025°17′16″E
Websitehttps://www.vno.lt/en/
Map
VNO
Location within Vilnius
VNO
VNO (Lithuania)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01/19 2,515 8,250 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2019)
Number of passengers5,004,921
Passenger change 18–191.7%
Aircraft movements47,440
Movements change 18–190.5%
Cargo (tonnes)13,974
Cargo change 18–199.4%
Source: Lithuanian Airports, 2020[1]

History

Early years

The airport began operations on 17 August 1932 as Wilno–Porubanek, Porubanek was the name of the neighbouring village which today is part of the Kirtimai district of Vilnius. Before World War II, it operated the then-domestic route between Wilno (Vilnius) and Warsaw as well as international route to Riga. Since 15 April 1939, it inaugurated a new route to Kovno (nowadays Kaunas). The airport was used as a military airfield during WWII. The airport resumed its activity as a civil airport as of 17 July 1944.[4]

Recent developments

Lithuanian Airlines (branded later as FlyLAL) was established as the Lithuanian flag carrier following independence in 1991 and inherited the Vilnius-based Aeroflot fleet of Tupolev Tu-134, Yakovlev Yak-40, Yak-42 and Antonov An-24, An-26 aircraft, but rapidly replaced these Soviet-era aircraft types with modern Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 jets and Saab 340, Saab 2000 turboprops. Operations were suspended effective 17 January 2009 as a result of growing financial difficulties. With the collapse of flyLAL, the airport lost its scheduled services to Amsterdam, Budapest, Istanbul, Madrid and Tbilisi. flyLAL used to operate to Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Milan and Paris in competition with Aer Lingus, airBaltic or Lufthansa.

AirBaltic, the national airline of Latvia and under Scandinavian Airlines part-ownership, opened up a second base at Vilnius in 2004 to complement its Riga operation and became the largest carrier at Vilnius, using Boeing 737 jets and Fokker 50 turboprops. At one point, airBaltic operated to 19 destinations from Vilnius but, in 2009, the network covered only three destinations served by two aircraft based at Vilnius.

Vilnius Airport is the main hub for Grand Cru Airlines and a base for Wizz Air. It used to be a main hub for Star1 Airlines until their end of operations in September 2010 and Aurela until Aurela had lost its flight license. It was the hub for Small Planet Airlines and Aviavilsa until both airlines folded. The airport was a secondary hub for airBaltic, Estonian Air and Skyways Express until they closed the bases in Vilnius.

On 30 June 2013, Air Lituanica also began its flights from the Vilnius Airport and established its base there serving several European cities. However, by 22 May 2015, the airline shut down all operations as well.[5]

The airport was closed for 35 days from 14 July 2017 to 17 August 2017 (inclusive) for runway reconstruction work, with all flights diverted to Kaunas Airport.[6][7]

Terminal
The Soviet-era terminal in 2013

The construction of the airport building started in 1949 and completed in 1954.[4] It features a standard 1950s Soviet airport terminal design, originally intended for an airport with up to 20 aircraft movements per day. On the outside, it is decorated with sculptures of soldiers, workers and aviators, while inside walls and ceilings feature wreaths, bay leaves and stars, and until the early 1990s, the Soviet hammer and sickle, typical decor for Soviet public buildings of early post-war years.

A new departure terminal, connected with the old building, was built in 1993.[8] Since then, the old building has been used as the arrival terminal only.[4]

In November 2007, the new 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) terminal building was opened for operations which improved the capacity and facilities of the airport and complies with the requirements of the Schengen agreement. The passenger throughput of the terminal increased, passenger service quality was improved and more stringent aviation security measures were implemented. The new area of the renovated passenger terminal now reaches 3,462 m2 (37,260 sq ft). It is equipped with 6 passenger boarding bridges, modern passenger check-in equipment, new travel value and duty-free shops were opened as well as business lounge and VIP Lounge.[9]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Vilnius:[10]

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
airBaltic Amsterdam, Berlin–Tegel, Dublin,[11] London–Gatwick,[11] Munich, Oslo–Gardermoen, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Riga, Tallinn
Seasonal: Dubrovnik[11]
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Avion Express Seasonal charter: Zakynthos[12]
Belavia Minsk
Blue Panorama Airlines Seasonal charter: Marsa Alam,[12] Nosy Be,[12] Taba,[12] Tenerife–South,[13] Tirana[12]
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Corendon Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya[12]
Corendon Airlines Europe Seasonal charter: Hurghada[14]
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Zakynthos[12]
Finnair Helsinki
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya,[15] Bodrum[15]
GetJet Airlines[16][15] Charter: Hurghada[15]
Seasonal charter: Antalya,[15] Barcelona,[15] Batumi,[15][17] Bodrum,[15] Burgas,[15] Catania,[15] Corfu,[16] Dalaman,[15] Dubai–Al Maktoum,[15] Enfidha,[16] Faro,[15] Funchal,[16] Gazipaşa,[16] Heraklion,[15] Kefalonia (begins 7 September 2020),[16] Málaga,[16] Palma de Mallorca,[15] Patras,[15] Rhodes,[15] Sharm El Sheikh,[15] Tenerife–South,[15] Tivat,[16] Varna[15]
Holiday Europe Seasonal charter: Hurghada,[18] Sharm El Sheikh[19]
LOT Polish Airlines London–City, Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Onur Air Seasonal charter: Antalya
Norwegian Air Shuttle Oslo–Gardermoen, Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair Barcelona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin-Brandenburg (begins 27 October 2020), Billund (begins 27 October 2020), Bremen , Charleroi, Dublin, Hahn, Kharkiv, Kiev–Boryspil, Liverpool, London–Luton, London–Southend, London–Stansted, Malta, Oslo–Gardermoen, Rome–Ciampino, Tel Aviv, Treviso, Vienna[20]
Seasonal: Amman-Queen Alia, Athens, Corfu, Chania
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen, Stockholm–Arlanda
Smartwings Hungary Seasonal charter: Corfu,[12] Funchal[12]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Seasonal charter: Antalya[21][15]
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev–Boryspil
Seasonal: Odessa
Wizz Air[22] Barcelona, Beauvais, Belfast–International, Billund, Doncaster/Sheffield, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Kiev–Zhuliany, Kutaisi, Larnaca, London–Luton, Lviv, Milan–Malpensa, Nice, Saint Petersburg,[23] Sandefjord, Tel Aviv, Yerevan, Zaporizhia[24]

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
ASL Airlines Belgium Riga
DHL Aviation Leipzig/Halle, Riga
SprintAir Riga
Transaviabaltika Minsk
Turkish Cargo Prague, Istanbul–Atatürk

Statistics
Departures area
Control tower

Passenger traffic
Passengers at Vilnius Airport (millions) [25]

Data update: July 2020

Annual traffic
Annual Passenger Traffic[26]
Year Passengers % Change Change
20195,004,921 1.7% 81,972
20184,922,949 30.9% 1,161,112
20173,761,837 1.4% 52,164
20163,814,001 14.3% 477,917
20153,336,084 13.4% 393,414
20142,942,670 10.6% 280,801
20132,661,869 20.6% 453,773
20122,208,096 28.9% 495,629
20111,712,467 24.7% 338,608
2010 1,373,859 5.0% 65,227
2009 1,308,632 36.1% 739,807
2008 2,048,439 19.3% 331,217
2007 1,717,222 18.3% 265,754
2006 1,451,468 13.2% 169,596
2005 1,281,872 33.0% 317,708
2004 964,164

Busiest routes
Top 20 busiest routes from Vilnius in 2018[27]
Rank City Passengers Airlines
1 London 468,000 Ryanair, Wizz Air
2 Frankfurt 276,000 Lufthansa, Ryanair
3 Oslo 261,000 Ryanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Wizz Air
4 Warsaw 253,000 LOT Polish Airlines, Wizz Air
5 Antalya 245,000 Small Planet Airlines, GetJet Airlines
6 Kiev 229,000 Ukraine International, Wizz Air, Ryanair
7 Riga 199,000 airBaltic
8 Milan 175,000 Wizz Air, Ryanair
9 Stockholm 167,000 Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air
10 Moscow 152,000 Aeroflot
11 Paris 134,000 airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air
12 Copenhagen 114,000 Scandinavian Airlines
13 Helsinki 110,000 Finnair
14 Brussels 98,000 Brussels Airlines
15 Barcelona 93,000 Wizz Air, Ryanair
16 Tallinn 91,000 Nordica, airBaltic
17 Berlin 84,000 airBaltic
18 Istambul 83,000 Turkish Airlines
19 Rome 82,000 Wizz Air, Ryanair
20 Hurghada 68,000 Small Planet Airlines, GetJet Airlines

Ground transportation
Vilnius airport railway station
The bus connecting the airport with Vilnius

Train

Direct train services between Vilnius Airport Railway Station (referred to as "Oro uostas" in the schedules) and the central station of Vilnius were started in October 2008. Distance from the Airport to the Central Railway Station is 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi), the journey takes 7 minutes.

Bus

The direct intercity express services operate from the Airport to Klaipėda, Palanga, Minsk and Daugavpils. Also, the Latvian company Flybus.lv operates service from Vilnius airport to Riga (via Panevėžys and Bauska).[28]

Public transportation

City's buses operate from the airport. Also, the company Toks transports passengers from the bus station to Vilnius airport and back by microbuses.[28]

Aviation services

Passenger handling, aircraft handling, into-plane fueling and de-icing/anti-icing services are handled by BGS and Litcargus.[29]

Incidents and accidents
  • Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2748, operated with Dash-8-400 (LN-RDS) with 48 passengers and 4 crew members, took off from Copenhagen Airport on 12 September 2007. It was heading to Palanga, Lithuania, but was diverted to Vilnius Airport (better suited for an emergency landing) when landing gear problems were discovered before landing. Upon touchdown, the right landing gear collapsed. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely. The local officials at the Vilnius International Airport noted that this was the most serious incident in recent years. This accident, along with the Aalborg accident just days earlier, caused all SAS Dash 8 Q400 planes to be grounded until the beginning of October.
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See also

References
  1. "VNO". www.ltou.lt. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. "EAD Basic". Ead.eurocontrol.int. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  3. "Institutions and Enterprises under the Regulation of the Ministry". sumin.lrv.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  4. "Vilnius International Airport - Istorija". www.vilnius-airport.lt. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. "Air Lituanica ceases operations". ch-aviation. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  6. "Reconstruction of the runway of Vilnius Airport". Vilnius Airport.
  7. "Vilnius Airport to be closed for a renovation until Aug. 17". The Seattle Times. 13 July 2017.
  8. iVilnius.lt. "By plane | How to arrive | Learn | iVilnius - Vilnius city guide". iVilnius - Vilnius city guide. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  9. "Vilnius Airport will have a new passenger terminal". sumin.lrv.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  10. vilnius-airport.com - Schedule retrieved 27 September 2019
  11. "airBaltic plans to launch flights from Vilnius to London, Dublin and Dubrovnik". airbaltic.com.
  12. "Our directions". itaka.lt.
  13. "Tenerife". TUI.lt.
  14. "Flight information to Egypt". Kidytour.lt.
  15. "Timetable". www.tez-tour.com.
  16. "Novaturas Flights en". Novaturas flights.
  17. Mammadova, Tamilla (3 September 2019). "First charter flight from Vilnius to Batumi, Georgia, completed". Trend.Az. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  18. "Hurghada". TUI.lt.
  19. "Sharm El Sheikh". TUI.lt.
  20. Liu, Jim. "Ryanair / Laudamotion S20 network consolidation as of 18JUN20". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  21. "Kelionių organizatoriai atšaukia visas keliones iš Lietuvos". LRT.
  22. "Flights to Lithuania - Wizz Air". wizzair.com. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  23. "Wizz Air announces further expansion from Saint Petersburg|". Wizzair.com. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  24. "Wizz Air announces further expansion in Ukraine with six new routes from Zaporizhzhya|". Wizzair.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  25. "Vilnius airport statistics".
  26. "VNO". www.ltou.lt. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  27. "Simonas Bartkus | Blog » Populiariausios kryptys 2018 m. – rekordiniais Vilniaus oro uosto metais". Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  28. "Vilnius International Airport - Train / Bus". vno.lt. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  29. "European Ground Handling". Airline Ground Services. Retrieved 20 June 2019.

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