Vilnius Airport

Vilnius International Airport (IATA: VNO, ICAO: EYVI) (Lithuanian: Vilniaus oro uostas) is the airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located 5.9 km (3.7 mi) south[4] of the city center. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic, with one runway and 5 million passengers a year.[3] 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.[5]

Vilnius International Airport

Tarptautinis Vilniaus oro uostas
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Lithuania
OperatorSE "Lithuanian Airports"
ServesVilnius, Lithuania
Opened1932[1]
Hub forairBaltic
Focus city for
Time zoneEastern European Time[2] (UTC+02:00)
Elevation AMSL646 ft / 197 m
Coordinates54°38′13″N 025°17′16″E
Websitevno.lt
Map
VNO is located in Vilnius
VNO
VNO
Location within Vilnius
VNO is located in Lithuania
VNO
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 18–19Increase1.7%
Aircraft movements47,440
Movements change 18–19Increase0.5%
Cargo (tonnes)13,974
Cargo change 18–19Increase9.4%
Source: Lithuanian Airports, 2020[3]
Main entrance to the airport

History

Early years
The opening of the Warsaw–Vilnius–Riga–Tallinn airline on 17 August 1932

The airport began operations on 17 August 1932[1] 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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9]

Terminal

The construction of the current airport building started in 1949 and completed in 1954.[6] 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.[10] Since then, the old building has been used as the arrival terminal only.[6]

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.[11]

New departure terminal

Construction of a new departure terminal at Vilnius Airport started in January 2023. After the completion of this 14,400 sq. m. terminal, the total area of Vilnius Airport passenger terminals will increase by one third, and passenger throughput will double – from 1,200 passengers per hour to 2,400. Together with the construction of the new terminal, a redevelopment of road infrastructure is planned, including upgrades of engineering networks and a new transport scheme. The terminal is scheduled to open in early 2025 with projected cost of 50.2 million euros.[12]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

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

AirlinesDestinations
airBaltic[13] Amsterdam, Berlin,[14] Brussels (resumes 30 October 2023),[15] Kraków (begins 3 May 2024),[16] Málaga,[17] Munich,[18] Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Riga, Tallinn[19]
Seasonal: Dubai–International (begins 1 November 2023),[20] Dubrovnik, Gran Canaria (begins 2 December 2023),[21] Heraklion,[22] Nice,[23] Palma de Mallorca,[24] Tenerife–South (begins 31 October 2023),[25] Turin (begins 23 December 2023)[26]
Austrian Airlines[27] Vienna
Avion Express[28] Seasonal charter: Antalya,[28] Barcelona,[28] Burgas,[28] Catania,[28] Enfidha,[28] Faro,[28] Funchal,[28] Gazipaşa,[28] Heraklion,[28] Hurghada,[28] Lamezia Terme,[28] Málaga,[28] Rhodes, [28] Salzburg (begins 3 February 2024),[29] Sharm El Sheikh, [28] Tenerife–South,[28] Tivat,[28] Varna[28]
Brussels Airlines[30] Brussels
Buzz Seasonal charter: Tirana[31]
Enter Air[31] Seasonal charter: Funchal
Finnair Helsinki
Freebird Airlines[32] Seasonal charter: Antalya
GetJet Airlines[33] Seasonal charter: Antalya,[33] Batumi,[33] Bodrum,[33] Burgas,[33] Corfu,[33] Gazipaşa,[33] Heraklion,[33] Hurghada,[33] Lamezia Terme,[33] Palma de Mallorca,[33] Patras,[33] Rhodes,[33] Sharm El Sheikh,[33] Tenerife–South,[33] Varna[33]
LOT Polish Airlines London–City, Warsaw–Chopin
Seasonal charter: Kavala[31]
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle[34] Oslo
Seasonal: Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair[35] Barcelona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin, Bremen, Eindhoven, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Malta, Nuremberg, Oslo, Rome–Fiumicino,[35] Tel Aviv, Treviso, Turin,[36] Vienna
Seasonal: Athens, Billund,[37] Corfu, Dublin,[38] Hahn, Varna[39]
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen, Stockholm–Arlanda
SkyUp[40] Seasonal charter: Antalya, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh
Smartwings[31] Seasonal charter: Marsa Alam, Zakynthos
SunExpress[41] Seasonal charter: Antalya
Swiss International Air Lines[42] Zürich
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Seasonal charter: Antalya
Wizz Air[43] Barcelona, Beauvais, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Kutaisi, Larnaca, London–Luton, Málaga,[44] Milan–Malpensa, Reykjavik–Keflavik, Rome–Ciampino (begins 31 March 2024),[45] Rome–Fiumicino (ends 30 March 2024),[46] Tel Aviv
Seasonal: Grenoble,[47] Nice, Sandefjord, Split

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation[48] Leipzig/Halle, Riga
Turkish Cargo[49] Istanbul, Prague

Statistics
Interior of the historic entrance hall
Departures area
Control tower
Air Force One in Vilnius

Passenger traffic
Passengers at Vilnius Airport. See Wikidata query.

"Vilnius airport statistics".

Annual traffic
Annual Passenger Traffic[50]
Year Passengers  % Change Change
2023 (Jan-Jul) 2,448,029 - -
2022 3,915,870 Increase 106.23% Increase 2,017,053
20211,898,817Increase 44.68% Increase 585,349
20201,312,468Decrease 73.78% Decrease 3,692,453
20195,004,921Increase 1.7% Increase 81,972
20184,922,949Increase 30.9% Increase 1,161,112
20173,761,837Decrease 1.4% Decrease 52,164
20163,814,001Increase 14.3% Increase 477,917
20153,336,084Increase 13.4% Increase 393,414
20142,942,670Increase 10.6% Increase 280,801
20132,661,869Increase 20.6% Increase 453,773
20122,208,096Increase 28.9% Increase 495,629
20111,712,467Increase 24.7% Increase 338,608
2010 1,373,859 Increase 5.0% Increase 65,227
2009 1,308,632 Decrease 36.1% Decrease 739,807
2008 2,048,439 Increase 19.3% Increase 331,217
2007 1,717,222 Increase 18.3% Increase 265,754
2006 1,451,468 Increase 13.2% Increase 169,596
2005 1,281,872 Increase 33.0% Increase 317,708
2004 964,164 Steady Steady

Busiest routes
Top 20 busiest routes from Vilnius in 2022[51]
Rank Airport Passengers Airlines
1 Turkey Antalya 341,291 Avion Express, Freebird Airlines, GetJet Airlines, SkyUp, SunExpress, Turkish Airlines
2 Poland Warsaw-Chopin 214,147 LOT Polish Airlines,
3 United Kingdom London-Luton 209,500 Ryanair, Wizz Air
4 Latvia Riga 164,544 airBaltic
5 Norway Oslo 161,279 Ryanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle
6 Germany Frankfurt 151,365 Lufthansa
7 Turkey Istanbul 125,173 Turkish Airlines
8 United Kingdom London-Stansted 118,649 Ryanair, Wizz Air
9 Italy Bergamo 103,075 Ryanair
10 Finland Helsinki 101,065 Finnair
11 Netherlands Eindhoven 98,714 Ryanair, Wizz Air
12 Republic of Ireland Dublin 92,550 Ryanair
13 Sweden Stockholm-Arlanda 85,397 Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines
14 Germany Berlin 78,872 airBaltic, Ryanair
15 Netherlands Amsterdam 73,214 airBaltic
16 France Beauvais 72,282 Ryanair, Wizz Air
17 Denmark Copenhagen 71,713 Scandinavian Airlines
18 Denmark Billund 69,313 Ryanair
19 Spain Barcelona 63,241 Wizz Air, Ryanair
20 Greece Heraklion 59,690 airBaltic, Avion Express, GetJet Airlines

Most frequent routes
Top 10 most frequent routes from Vilnius as of August 2023[52]
Rank City Flights per week
1 Poland Warsaw Chopin ~32
2 Latvia Riga ~28
3 Finland Helsinki ~23
4 Denmark Copenhagen ~18
5 United Kingdom London Luton ~14
6 Turkey Istanbul ~14
7 Germany Frankfurt ~12
8 Sweden Stockholm Arlanda ~11
9 Norway Oslo Gardermoen ~10
10 Germany Berlin Brandenburg ~8

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 Vilnius Central Railway Station (LTG Link) is 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi), the journey takes 8 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).[53]

Public transportation

City's public buses operate from the airport. Tickets can be bought from: Trafi, M.Ticket. Also, the company Toks transports passengers from the bus station to Vilnius airport and back by microbuses.[53]

Aviation services

Passenger handling, aircraft handling, into-plane fueling and de-icing/anti-icing services are handled by BGS and Litcargus.[54]
Pilot training is conducted at Kyviskes Airfield, a non-commercial airport about 25 kilometers[55] from Vilnius Airport.[56][57]

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.
  • On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978, operated using a Boeing 737-8AS with 171 passengers on board, traveling in Belarusian airspace en route from Athens to Vilnius, was intercepted by a Belarusian MiG-29 before it could reach Lithuanian airspace. It was then forced to land at Minsk National Airport. Upon landing, the Belarusian KGB arrested two of the passengers, opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. The other passengers were allowed to reboard the plane to depart for Vilnius after seven hours.
  • On 21 June 2023, the runway was closed after Brussels Airlines Flight 2372, set to fly to Brussels Airport could not take off as a landing gear tire popped while taxiing.

See also

References
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