Lithuanian airports handle 2.9 million passengers in July

In the first seven months of the year, Lithuanian airports handled a total of 2.9 million passengers.

In July 2019, Lithuanian Airports handled 595,000 passengers, 577,000 in July, and this year in July. Last month, 4.8 thousand flights were recorded at Lithuanian airports, compared to 3.8 thousand flights in the same period last year. In July of 2019 the number of flights handled at Lithuanian airports was slightly more than 5.5 thousand, which is considered a record year.

Last month, 426 thousand passengers travelled through the Vilnius Airport gates. Passengers travelled to Vilnius Airport 95% of the pre-pandemic monthly flow In comparison, 449 thousand passengers travelled through Vilnius Airport in the same period in 2019. The Vilnius Airport was able to restore almost 85% of the pre-pandemic flight flow. The Vilnius Airport handled almost 3.5 thousand flights last month. The figure was around 2.7 thousand flights and thousand in the same period last year.

The Kaunas Airport has outperformed the pre-pandemic indicators for the fourth month in a row. During the month of July, 122,000 passengers travelled 107% of the pre-pandemic monthly flow compared to 114,000 in July 2019, which is considered a record. Kaunas Airport is also the leader in the country's airport network and outperforms the record period in terms of the number of flights handled. In the second month of summer, 993 flights were handled at the airport. Before the epidemic, the indicator was 934, while last year it was 735.

Palanga Airport was able to restore 89% of its pre-pandemic passenger flow. In July of this year, 29,000 passengers travelled through this gateway, compared to 17,600 last year and around 32,000 in 2019. Palanga Airport was able to restore 70% of its previous flight flow. The airport handled 352 flights last month, which was compared to 372 flights in the same period last year and 503 flights in 2019.

In July, the average load factor of traditional carriers reached 77% and the load factor of low-cost airlines reached 89%, with the average load factor reaching 77% in July. Similar rates were recorded before the epidemic, according to aviation experts.

The number of cargo transported through Lithuanian airports has increased this year compared to 2019 16 growth. Just over 1.4 thousand tonnes of cargo were transported in July 2019, while almost 1.7 thousand tons of cargo were transported this year. The figure was even higher last year, at 1.8 thousand tonnes. The most cargo handled by Vilnius Airport -- nearly 1.3 thousand tons, Kaunas Airport handled about 363 tonnes and Palanga Airport handled 0.1 tons of cargo.

In July of this year, the number of destinations at Lithuanian airports exceeded the results of last year, with 92 destinations available in July 2019, 76 in 2021 and 90 in July this year. London is the most popular destination scheduled for a trip.