Aviation statistics for August: passenger flows at Lithuanian Airports continued to grow

The passenger traffic statistics of Lithuanian Airports in August show that this month showed best results this summer. Despite the travel restrictions still in place, which pose many challenges for passenger aviation and many other areas, in August all three of the country’s air gates served almost 212 000 passengers or 34 percent of the flow for this month of last year.  

The number of people willing to travel increased

Already in July, Lithuanian Airports recorded a faster recovery of passenger traffic - at that time it reached 28% and was 7% higher than the average European passenger traffic.

During August, 212 000 passengers were served, or 21% more than in July. The largest share was at Vilnius Airport – 139 000 passengers were served here, while Kaunas Airport serviced 53 000 passengers and Palanga Airport saw 19 000 travellers.

It is estimated that in August at all three airports of the country there were 16% more flights than in July - a total of 3405 flights or 59.4% of the traffic in August of 2019, a total of almost 364 000 seats were offered on aircrafts, which is 56% of last year’s supply.

The head of the Aviation Services Division says that the increase in passenger traffic was due to a significant number of routes - 72 of them were jointly proposed in August.

According to Aurimas Stikliūnas, Head of Aviation Services at Lithuanian Airports, due to stricter travel conditions, passenger traffic is likely to stop growing again in the autumn and winter, possibly returning to the level of July.

"Both in Lithuania and in other European countries, movement restrictions change very often, as in some places they become stricter with longer self-isolation periods, meaning that airlines decide which routes between countries are in demand by passengers. We are already seeing clear indications that in September and October we will see a decrease in passenger flows precisely due to traffic restrictions between the countries”, comments A. Stikliūnas.

According to the expert, the situation of passenger aviation could change for the better if European countries could agree on the recommendations issued by the European Commission in the beginning of September - to simplify and unify the conditions for passengers travelling within the continent.

About Lithuanian Airports

The Lithuanian Airports network includes three air gates in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga. During 2019 they served 6.5 million passengers and 62 thousand flights.