“We would like to apologise in advance to every passenger whose planes will not be able to land or take off in Vilnius airport in the upcoming few weeks due to poor weather conditions and thus will be diverted to other airports found in the vicinity. We are powerless against natural disasters. For this reason, we urge all passengers not to panic because red light in Vilnius airport does not mean that their trip will not take place. It simply might take longer than planned,” Mr. Voveris said.
According to the executive manager of Lithuanian Airports, when an airplane is diverted to any other airport, airlines and their ground handling companies will take care of passengers so that they reach their destination point safely. For instance, if an airplane lands in Kaunas airport, passengers will have a free of charge bus to take them to Vilnius.
“Passengers should not worry even in cases when the aircraft of the scheduled flight does not land in Vilnius airport due to bad weather conditions. The solution for such situation is the same – a bus will take them to the airport where their aircraft will be waiting for them,” Mr. Voveris explained.
Head of the Lithuanian Airports noted that the final decision on an airplane taking off or landing in one or another airport is always taken by the flight crew.
Temporary changes in relation to aircraft landing in Vilnius airport until 14 July will be determined by the Instrumental Landing System (ILS) which is to be turned off as of today. After this system is switched off, aircrafts are to conduct operations by using VOR/DME equipment.
As Mr. Voveris put it, the decision to turn off the ILS for two weeks was taken due to necessary preparations before the reconstruction of the taxiway which are performed in the zone in which this system functions. During these activities, the landing of airplanes in Vilnius will mainly depend on weather conditions – visibility, the altitude of clouds, wind direction and its strength.
About Lithuanian Airports
The Lithuanian Airport network has three air gates in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga. In 2016, they serviced 4.8 million passengers and 52,000 flights. During the summer season, as many as 17 airline companies offer the flights with 69 directions from the Lithuanian airports to 59 cities in 26 countries. According to the data of the Airports Council International (ACI Europe), Lithuania’s airports contribute 2.5% to Lithuania’s GDP.
