In the first seven months of this year, Lithuanian Airports handled a total of 2.9 million passengers.
In July 2019, Lithuanian Airports handled 595,000 passengers, in 2021 - 325,000, and this year in July - 577,000. Flight flows are also on the rise: 4.8 thousand flights were recorded at Lithuanian Airports last month, compared to 3.8 thousand flights in the same period last year. The number of flights handled at Lithuanian Airports in July 2019, which is considered a record year, was slightly more than 5.5 thousand.
Kaunas Airport's growth rate
Last month, 426 thousand passengers travelled through Vilnius Airport gates. Passengers travelled to Vilnius Airport (95% of the pre-pandemic monthly flow). In comparison, 449 thousand passengers travelled through Vilnius Airport in the same period in 2019. Vilnius Airport managed to restore almost 85% of the pre-pandemic flight flow. Last month, Vilnius Airport handled almost 3.5 thousand flights. In the same period last year, the figure was around 2.7 thousand flights, and in 2019 - 4.2 thousand.
Meanwhile, Kaunas Airport has outperformed even the pre-pandemic indicators for the fourth month in a row. Last month, 122,000 passengers travelled through the airport (107% of the pre-pandemic monthly flow), compared to 114,000 in July 2019, which is considered a record. In terms of the number of flights handled, Kaunas Airport is also the leader in the country's airport network and outperforms the record period. In the second month of summer, 993 flights were handled at the airport. Before the pandemic, the indicator was 934, while last year it was 735.
Palanga Airport managed to restore 89% of its pre-pandemic passenger flow. In July this year, 29,000 passengers travelled through this gateway, compared to 17,600 last year and around 32,000 in 2019. Palanga Airport has also managed to restore 70% of its previous flight flow. Last month, the airport handled 352 flights, compared to 372 flights in the same period last year and 503 in 2019.
Compared to June, average load factors have also increased, with traditional carriers' load factor reaching 77% in July and low-cost airlines' load factor reaching 89%. According to aviation experts, similar rates were recorded before the pandemic.
Cargo volumes and flight destinations
The number of cargo transported through Lithuanian Airports has also increased this year compared to 2019 (16 % growth). In July 2019, just over 1.4 thousand tonnes of cargo were transported, while this year almost 1.7 thousand tonnes of cargo were transported. Last year, the figure was even higher at 1.8 thousand tonnes. Vilnius Airport handled the most cargo - almost 1.3 thousand tonnes, Kaunas Airport handled about 363 tonnes and Palanga Airport - 0.1 tonnes of cargo.
The number of destinations available at Lithuanian Airports in July this year surpassed last year's results, with 92 destinations available in July 2019, 76 in 2021, and 90 in July this year. London remains the most popular scheduled destination.
