AARHUS, Denmark—The attraction of three new carriers—Aegean Airlines, flydubai and PLAY—highlights the continued draw of the Lithuanian market, according to Lithuanian Airports' head of route development, Tomas Zitikis.
“We believe this is a testament to the robustness of our market which has, despite industry and global challenges, managed to recover very close to pre-pandemic figures,” he said at Routes Europe 2024.
Lithuanian Airports, which operates Vilnius Airport, Kaunas Airport and Palanga Airport, has altered its strategy in recent years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two previously important markets. Ukraine was the sixth-largest market in 2019, while Russia was ninth, collectively accounting for about 9.5% of capacity to and from Lithuania.
“Navigating through these turbulent times and adapting our market strategy has been a challenge that has as well produced a number of opportunities,” Zitikis said. “Recent results show that surging demand for westbound travel has compensated for the losses in traffic to and from markets east of Lithuania.”
Lithuanian Airports handled more than 6 million passengers in 2023, marking a rise of 12% on the previous 12 months. Recent route successes have included the introduction Aegean’s flights from Athens this month; PLAY’s plans to operate from Reykjavik Keflavik in May; and the addition of a route from Dubai with flydubai, starting in October.
The group’s network strategy has been boosted by the introduction of a new incentive model last May that sees both Lithuanian Airports and the carrier bear the financial risks associated with the launch of a new route and share in the financial benefits generated by the flights.
“Our novel route development tool, a risk-sharing partnership, has already been hailed a success,” Zitikis said. “It has allowed us to maintain direct connectivity with London City, with flights to Hamburg and Lisbon launching soon.”
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