OREANDA-NEWS. September 13, 2011. This summer season the passenger traffic at Vilnius International Airport (VIA) showed a regular upward trend. Compared to the same period in 2010, the passenger traffic surpassed the numbers of June by 24.5%, July by 26.2% and August by 28.21%, reported the press-centre of Vilnius International Airport.

“With the coming of new air carriers, Vilnius Airport shows increasingly better results. I am convinced that the results will continue to grow because the airlines are optimistic about the coming season,” Minister of Transport and Communications Eligijus Masiulis summarised the results of the airport.

In the first summer month the passenger number amounted to 186.1 thousand; 185.9 thousand passengers were serviced in July, whereas in August the passenger traffic skyrocketed to as many as 190.1 passengers. In total, VIA received 562.1 thousand passengers this summer, i.e. 26.3% more compared to the previous year: the airport handled 444.96 thousand passengers in the summer of 2010 and 406.9 thousand passengers in the same period of 2009.

“In the middle of the previous month, 16 August, we welcomed our one millionth passenger, whereas in 2010 the one millionth passenger travelled in the middle of September,” VIA managing director Tomas Vaisvila noted. He highlights that Vilnius Airport is planning to maintain the 26% growth rate achieved by the airport this summer throughout the remaining months of the year.

According to the data of the Statistics Department, Vilnius received the highest number of visitors from the neighbouring countries – Poland, Russia, Belarus, Latvia, also – Germany, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Finland, Italy and the United States. The data is also supported by the passenger flows at Vilnius Airport – the passenger traffic to Rome and Milan soared more than twice, and the number of passengers heading to Barcelona rose one and a half times. Compared to August last year, the growth of passenger traffic to London and Kiev reached 60%; passenger flows to Riga, Frankfurt and Helsinki rose 24% on the average.

2008 was most successful to Vilnius Airport, with 2,048 million passengers serviced in the period of economic prosperity. However, in August this year, passenger traffic on certain routes has already exceeded the results of 2008: the passenger number to Kiev rose 36%, Rome – 26%, Vienna – 13%, Riga – 10%, Frankfurt – 10%.