OREANDA-NEWS. October 18, 2011. The first months of autumn culminated in an exceptional increase in passenger traffic at Vilnius International Airport (VIA). This September the largest airport of Lithuania handled 179.5 thousand passengers – 38.4 percent more than during the same period in 2010. In September the volume of flights grew by 19.9 percent and reached 2,594 flights, reported the press-centre of VIA.

With over ten years of experience at Vilnius Airport, Austrian Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines hit record-breaking numbers of passenger traffic last month.  Brussels Airlines, which has been operating successfully since spring 2009, also kept in step.  

“The revival of business sector brought us record-high passenger flows. During summer, passengers preferred leisure and sightseeing destinations: Rome, Milan, Barcelona, etc. The first month of autumn gave us a clear indication that business sets to work: we observed a significant rise in passenger traffic to Brussels, Vienna, Frankfurt, Moscow, Warsaw, Helsinki and other destinations,” says Tomas Vaisvila, VIA Managing Director. 

A single daily afternoon flight to Vienna brought Austrian Airlines an increase in passenger traffic by 32 percent in September compared to the same period last year. It was the first time over the years of operation in Vilnius that Brussels Airlines had handled over 4,000 passengers per month by operating its evening flight on the route to Brussels 6 times per week. LOT Polish Airlines, which ensures several-times-a-day communication with Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw, carried 6, 455 passengers in September, i.e. more than any other month of operation at Vilnius Airport.

According to Tomas Vaisvila, the September results strikes an optimistic note before the upcoming winter season which is expected to bring exclusively good communication with Vilnius by direct and connecting flights. Usually a winter schedule offers fewer flights but this winter VIA plans to offer even more regular flights compared to the summer season.

Vilnius Airport is to start its winter season with the final Sunday of October which will last until the final Sunday of March.