The new passenger departure terminal of Vilnius Airport has been built: he said when it will start operating | Business

While presenting the new departure terminal of Vilnius Airport, the representatives talked about a strong qualitative leap, which, according to them, will provide a completely different level of travel experience.

Gediminas Almantas, Chairman of the Board of Lithuanian Airports (LOU), noted that this terminal is only a small part of the whole strategy.

“Basically, today, on behalf of the entire management, we want to talk about strategy: geopolitics is changing, it is not easy to attract new directions to Lithuania, but here we have to discover our advantages and specifics. Going to a new qualitative focus, LOU has transformed itself from a state-owned company to a joint-stock company, we have prepared long-term plans – they have clear development terms – both with flights and with infrastructure, and with attracting new partners, and with sustainability criteria. All this is already clearly visible and will be reflected in future projects,” he said.

The Minister of Transport, Marius Skuodis, who participated in the event, added that the most important thing is that the new terminal will serve twice the number of passengers.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/Presentation of the new departure terminal of Vilnius airport

According to Lithuanian Airports (LTOU) representatives, the new terminal will start operating on February 4 of next year, and until then equipment will be installed and tested inside the terminal.

Although the company has about 750 employees, it is estimated that about 8 thousand. people to the airports of Vilnius, Kaunas, Palanga, in one form or another – come to work every day or work continuously – be it employees of ground companies or operating airplane repair workshops.

It is said that there are currently 83 flight directions from Vilnius. This year, it is planned to serve about 55 thousand. flights, about 6.3 million passengers.

The LOU company has about 180 partners, including international companies. In the long-term perspective, according to the representatives, LOU intends to become an accelerator of economic growth, which is why the updated vision was born: to speed up the Lithuanian economy.

Fluids will have to be removed

Although the new passenger departure terminal of Vilnius Airport is equipped in such a way that it is possible not to remove liquids from the luggage during the inspection, passengers will still have to do so, LOU representatives emphasized. This procedure will be due to the European Commission (EC) s. m. September 1 Regulation introduced: The requirement to remove 100 milliliters or more of liquid during screening has remained at all airports, unless there is a change in regulation by February.

As previously announced by LOU representatives, after the construction of 14.4 thousand sq. meters terminal, the total area of ​​Vilnius airport’s passenger terminals will increase by a third, and passenger throughput will double (from 1,200 to 2,400 passengers per hour).

On the first floor of the two-story building, there will be a passenger check-in area with a self-service area, where it will be possible not only to check-in for the flight, but also to check-in luggage.

It was also previously announced that the construction of the new arrivals terminal will begin in early 2025, with completion expected by 2027, and the renovation of the current Soviet building with commercial spaces by 2028. By 2030, it is planned to build an underground station of the European railway “Rail Baltica” under this building.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/Presentation of the new departure terminal of Vilnius airport

The Ministry of Transport proposes to recognize the development of Vilnius airport as an important project for the state. By 2030, after implementing 235 million A project requiring private and state budget funds of EUR 7.8 million would be served here. passengers per year.

The terminal was built in more than one and a half years for approximately 50 million. euros was built by “Eikos statyba”.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/Presentation of the new departure terminal of Vilnius airport

Introduced a new strategy

On Monday, the new operational strategy of LTOU was also presented. Its basis includes two most important aspirations – promoting the development of sustainable partnerships and increasing the contribution of the airport ecosystem to the Lithuanian economy.

“A large part of the desired changes in the four-year period will be related to the planned development of the airport infrastructure. We want these investments to have a direct impact on both the improving passenger experience and the overall ability to serve more passengers, as well as become the basis for businesses to expand their operations at the three international airports in our country. In the coming years, we will see that airport spaces are changing strongly, and in this process, our focus will be directed to the highest quality bar, which we want to achieve together with our partners”, commented Simon Bartkus, head of LTOU, on the strategy’s aspirations.

Among the strategically important areas of activity, LTOU distinguishes not only the development of infrastructure, but also the improvement of the quality of air transportation, the refinement of a balanced business model, the passenger experience, the control of possible business risks and the assurance of sustainability principles in operations.

According to the head of LTOU, in the next few years, great attention will be paid to digital transformation, which will include both passenger experience, more efficient management of the organization and many other processes with which almost all passengers at the airport have contact.

“Already, a considerable part of the processes in airports are increasingly digitized and automated, and this proportion will only increase in the near future. From the automation of baggage systems, self-service options, flow management to aviation security checks or the ordering and management of additional services – we are planning fundamental changes in many areas that will allow us to accumulate new competences, therefore we identify this aspiration as one of the important connecting denominators”, says S. Bartkus.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/Presentation of the new departure terminal of Vilnius airport

Replan the spaces

According to S. Bartkaus, after the testing of the departure terminal is completed and it is opened to passengers, the next stage of conversion of Vilnius airport will await. During it, the spaces of the old terminals will be re-planned and replaced, which will allow for a significant expansion of commercial activities, and this will mean more opportunities for passengers to receive a variety of services.

“We plan to start the conversion of the existing terminals from around the middle of 2025. Since the entire departure function will already be transferred from the old to the new terminal, we will continue the changes of the airport, which will be aimed at increasing our ability to provide more spaces for commercial services and offer passengers more comfort”, says S. Bartkus.

According to the manager, the conversion of the old terminals will last until the end of 2026. The planning and construction process of the new arrival terminal will also take place in parallel – this terminal is planned to start at the end of 2028.