The need for additional infrastructure required to handle the passenger flow from the capital in other cities is currently being estimated, Vilnius Airport said.
The runway at Vilnius Airport will be reconstructed from the ground – works are planned in both outside and ground part of it. The last reconstruction of the runway which was built back in 1958 took place over 20 years ago. The specifics of works does not allow them to be carried out at night and without stopping flights – high-quality works will require a little more than a month’s time.
“Kaunas will become the capital of Lithuanian aviation in 2017. It is likely that many passengers will choose this air gateway. Such reconstruction of Vilnius Airport’s runway was caused by numerous reasons that are perfectly described as “the time has simply come for it”. We cannot carry out high-quality reconstruction at night only. In this case we could only patch the runway but we want to pursue sustainable activities,” says Artūras Stankevičius, director of Vilnius Airport.
The most favourable date for reconstruction has been chosen having carefully considered various factors as the majority of the works require higher air temperature and precipitation is not favourable for them. For this reason the analysis of weather conditions in 2012-2014 has been carried out indicating that the least rainy days occur exactly in the selected July-August period. Preparatory works starting in spring that will not stop the flights are also estimated to take around 3-4 months.
In preparation for reconstruction, Lithuanian Airports has carried out a survey of air carriers – 13 out of 15 airlines currently operating in the capital are going to move their flights from Vilnius to other cities.
“We would like to emphasise that airlines are not undertaking anything officially yet but their intentions give cause for optimism. We are actively communicating with airlines, planning changes in the infrastructure and trying to make the reconstruction period as easy and convenient for both the airlines and passengers as possible,” said Stankevičius.
Vilnius Airport is expected to welcome almost 4,350 flights and a little over 400,000 passengers in 14 July – 18 August 2017. Based on the current data, 77 percent of these flights and 90 percent of passengers are to be moved to other cities.
In order to handle so many passengers in a convenient manner, it is planned to build additional temporary infrastructure at Kaunas Airport – an arrival terminal, a departure terminal with areas for check-in, aviation security screening, the State Border Guard Service, Customs, boarding gates and other typical airport areas. Parking lots will have to been expanded significantly and temporary parking spaces will have to be built as well. Reconstruction of the existing ramp of Kaunas Airport will be carried out in 2016 providing the sufficient number of aircraft parking stands.
Palanga Airport is capable of handling more passengers without additional infrastructure. Its current throughput capacity is 300,000 passengers per year, while it is expected to handle half as much this year.
Lithuanian Airports is also preparing for other scenarios provided less flights and passengers are moved to other cities, e.g. 75 percent, 50 percent or 30 percent of the total expected passenger flow. Less of temporary infrastructure would be built for this purpose.
The first preparatory works are to commence next year already – reconstruction of primary circuits, replacement and installation of over 100 km of electric cables and 168 wells, Vilnius Airport said.
Be the first to comment