According to the data published in the quarterly airport review of ACI EUROPE (European Region of Airports Council International) for the first quarter of this year, Vilnius International Airport (VIA) is one of the fastest growing airports in Europe.

VIA is in the third place among 106 European airports in terms of the increase in the number of flights. The number of flights served at VIA during the first quarter of 2010 amounted to 5,863, which is 24.5 per cent more than during the same quarter of 2009.

Brussels South Charleroi Airport (Belgium) and Antalya Airport (Turkey) are the two fastest growing airports in Europe with the actual increase in the number of flights amounting to 49.2 and 28.4 respectively. In terms of this particular indicator, VIA is the leader among the airports situated in the capital cities of Europe, most of which witnessed a reduction or only a slight increase in the number of flights.

As compared to the neighbouring countries, the growth in the number of flights served at VIA was the fastest with that in Riga Airport amounting to 11.1 per cent (13 912 flights) and the number of flights served at Tallinn Airport going down by 3.4 per cent (5 968 flights).

“The figures and tendencies show that the company has chosen the right strategy, and that competitive pricing, effective management and the optimisation of business processes at Vilnius International Airport have resulted in positive outcomes,” – says Director General of VIA Tomas Vaišvila.

ACI EUROPE in its review says that VIA is in the fifteenth position in Europe among 106 airports according to the growth in the number of passengers.

“The chosen strategy and the decisions taken some time ago are bringing the expected results. We already see the increasing number of routs and flights to Vilnius International Airport. Yet another important step would be to increase the flow of passengers travelling to this region, however this is the task that needs to be undertaken together with the institutions responsible for tourism,” – says Mr. Eligijus Masiulis, the Minister of Transport and Communications.

Currently 15 airlines are operating regular routs from Vilnius and offering their passengers 25 direct flights.