Vilnius International Airport is located 5.9km south of Vilnius, Lithuania. The airport is owned by the Lithuanian government and operated by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The airport acted as a military base during WWII. The civilian operations were started in 1944. A building constructed in 1949 has been used as the arrivals terminal since 1993.
Spread over 326ha, the airport acts as a hub for AirBaltic, Estonian Air, Small Planet and Wizzair airlines. The other airlines operating at the airport include Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Czech Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines.
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The airport has handled passenger traffic of 1.31m and recorded 37,839 aircraft movements in 2009.
Expansion
An increase in passenger traffic has led to the initiation of various expansion and renovation projects at the airport.
The video surveillance system in the terminal was upgraded in 2005. This upgrade, which cost 4.6m Litas (€1.3m), was funded partly (1.6m Litas) by the European Regional Development Fund.
Construction of a new passenger terminal was planned in 2005. The new terminal, covering an area of 180,000ft², was opened in November 2007. It was built to serve non-Schengen flights.
The terminal had cost approximately 105.6m Litas (€30.6m), which was funded partly by a special EU structural fund and partly (2.5m Litas) by co-financing.
Expansion projects after 2007 have, however, increased the area of the terminal to 403,240ft². The expansion works included upgrade of baggage facilities in the arrival hall, construction of aircraft parking stands and extension of the apron.
Construction of the aircraft parking stands and the expansion of the apron were carried out in 2008. The baggage claim facilities at the arrival hall were upgraded in October 2010 to enhance service.
Terminal features
The passenger terminal can handle 3m passengers. The terminal is divided into arrival and departure areas.
The terminal has three blocks A, B and C. Arrival block A is a three-storey structure. Blocks B and C are two-storey buildings on either side of the arrival block A.
The arrivals area includes baggage storage, ATMs, car rental offices and vending machines. Levels 1 and 2 of the arrivals terminal feature a café and a restaurant respectively.
Currency exchangers are located in both arrival and departure areas. The departure area features a business and VIP lounge, duty free shops and a first aid room. It also contains 30 check-in desks and a flight information display. It also accommodates the Olympia lounge, a passenger farewell area that was opened in October 2010.
The business lounge is dedicated for priority class passengers and the VIP lounge is rented for people who do not want to wait in queues. The VIP lounge features waiting areas and a working room with facilities such as internet access, satellite TV, CD/DVD player, telephones, photocopier and fax machines.
Wi-Fi is accessible from the passenger waiting hall, business lounge, VIP lounge and coffee shops in the departure terminal. The airport also offers facilities for disabled passengers.
Runway
The airport has a single runway designated 02/20. The runway is 2,515m-long and 50m-wide. It is surfaced with asphalt and concrete.
The runway was modernised in July 2007 by installing the precision approach system CAT II. Siemens was awarded the contract to install the Cat II system. The modernisation cost approximately 4.8m Litas (€1.4m).
Parking
The airport provides 292 short-term and 325 long-term parking spaces. Short-term parking is located near the arrivals terminal. In addition, there are 25 parking spaces in the central parking lot where vehicles can be parked for 15 minutes free of charge.
The long-term parking services are contracted to three companies – State Enterprise Vilnius International Airport, Unipark UAB and ADC parking.
Ground transportation
Taxis, buses and shuttles operate to and from the airport. Taxis are available at the arrivals area. Train services to the airport started from October 2008.
A pedestrian walkway connects the terminal to the railway stop.
Contractors
A contract worth €28m to build the new passenger terminal was awarded to Lithuania-based AB YIT Kausta in May 2006.
