newstodate.aero
Jun 11, 2013 (newstodate): Under the planned restructuring of the airports infrastructure in Lithuania, each of the country's three international airports will have its own role to play - and develop.
-One example is Kaunas Airport that is seeing significant traffic by Ryanair and airBaltic as well as other operators including the latest newcomer, Rusline, says Arijandas Sliupas, vice-minister of transport & communications.
-The airport has also earlier seen significant air cargo traffic that is however not operating now, reflecting changes in the global economy and a general decline in airfreight volumes.
-Kaunas Airport may, however, still have a future in the airfreight industry, at least in the longer perspective. I do not see much reason in chasing for air cargo traffic at Kaunas right now, but we may see conditions changing with a gradual build-up of an aviation-related business environment around the airport.
-For instance, Ryanair has already built a 3,500 sq m maintenance and service hangar at Kaunas airport, and construction of a second hangar is underway. The helicopter company Aviabaltika is building a hangar on a 19,000 sq.m. site leased for a period of 40 years, and in Q3, 2013, the Lithuanian MRO provider FL Technics will open its new 8,000 sq m facility at Kaunas Airport, designed for maintenance of short and medium range aircraft as well as for long-range wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
-These aviation-related businesses - and there will be more to come - generate a need for air transport of cargo shipments as well, and coupled with the nearby Kaunas Free Economic Zone by the Baltic Kaunas Harbor, future business opportunities for Kaunas Airport abound.
-Identifying and developing these new opportunities will be encouraged by the state under the coming restructuring of the country's airports infrastructure that will see a common management of the airports of Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga, says Mr Sliupas.
-One example is Kaunas Airport that is seeing significant traffic by Ryanair and airBaltic as well as other operators including the latest newcomer, Rusline, says Arijandas Sliupas, vice-minister of transport & communications.
-The airport has also earlier seen significant air cargo traffic that is however not operating now, reflecting changes in the global economy and a general decline in airfreight volumes.
-Kaunas Airport may, however, still have a future in the airfreight industry, at least in the longer perspective. I do not see much reason in chasing for air cargo traffic at Kaunas right now, but we may see conditions changing with a gradual build-up of an aviation-related business environment around the airport.
-For instance, Ryanair has already built a 3,500 sq m maintenance and service hangar at Kaunas airport, and construction of a second hangar is underway. The helicopter company Aviabaltika is building a hangar on a 19,000 sq.m. site leased for a period of 40 years, and in Q3, 2013, the Lithuanian MRO provider FL Technics will open its new 8,000 sq m facility at Kaunas Airport, designed for maintenance of short and medium range aircraft as well as for long-range wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
-These aviation-related businesses - and there will be more to come - generate a need for air transport of cargo shipments as well, and coupled with the nearby Kaunas Free Economic Zone by the Baltic Kaunas Harbor, future business opportunities for Kaunas Airport abound.
-Identifying and developing these new opportunities will be encouraged by the state under the coming restructuring of the country's airports infrastructure that will see a common management of the airports of Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga, says Mr Sliupas.