Kaunas Fluxus Airport ( lt, Kauno tarptautinis oro uostas), is the second-busiest civil airport in Lithuania after

Vilnius Airport Vilnius Airport ( lt, Vilniaus oro uostas) is the international airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located south of the city. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic. With one runway ...

and the fourth-busiest in the Baltic states. The airport is located in the central part of the country, northeast of the Kaunas city centre and 100 km west from the capital

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

History

Kaunas Airport started operations in 1988 when airport activities were moved from the historic S. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport, located in the central part of Kaunas city. In 1991, after Lithuania's independence, it gained the status of an international airport and in 1996 it became a member of

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its members ...

and began to take part in the activities of the "Lithuanian Airports" association. Kaunas Airport was used by

YAK-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Yak ...

, and

YAK-42 The Yakovlev Yak-42 (russian: Яковлев Як-42; NATO reporting name: "Clobber") is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airli ...

of the local Aeroflot branch since 1988. The flight range was moderate and there were some scheduled flights from Kaunas to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Odessa,

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

, and

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...

. Regional airline

Air Lithuania Air Lithuania ( lt, Aviakompanija Lietuva, literally: ''Air Company "Lithuania"'') was a regional airline based in Kaunas in Lithuania. It operated scheduled and charter flights, provided cargo services and aircraft rental. Its main bases were K ...

based in Kaunas operated scheduled and charter flights from Kaunas to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Billund, Hamburg,

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

, and

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

from 1993 till 2004. Ryanair started operating flights to Kaunas in 2004. In 2006 it announced establishment of its base in Kaunas. At the beginning of 2013, Ryanair invested more than 3 million euros in a new aircraft maintenance and repair hangar in Kaunas, which currently employs 220 people (2018 data). The airline is further expanding its aircraft maintenance activity at Kaunas Airport, with a planned further investment of 1.6 million euros, which will allow the servicing of twice as many aircraft. The company intends to employ 40 additional aviation mechanics, and the employment strategy is based on the company's collaboration with the Kaunas School of Mechanics at Kaunas University of Technology in order to prepare necessary specialists and invite students for traineeships.

Air Baltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in ...

operated Riga - Kaunas daily flights in 2006-2008 and 2009–2014, sometimes reaching up to 2 daily flights.

Wizzair Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...

operated Kaunas-Warsaw-London Luton route for a short period of time in 2005. The airline returned to Kaunas in 2012. Two temporary terminals were in operation in 2017, when

was closed for reconstruction and flights transferred to Kaunas. LOT Polish Airlines started operating six weekly flights to Kaunas International from Warsaw on 21 May 2018.

Overview

Kaŭna Flughaveno (Kauno oro uostas) forfluga areo 1

Ownership

The airport is owned and operated by the State-owned enterprise Kauno Aerouostas, and is fully governable to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. In May 2013, the Government announced about the plans to merge

, Kaunas and

Palanga Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...

airports into one company and the plans were approved by the Lithuanian parliament in November 2013. The merger took place in 2014.

Operations

Ryanair is the main passenger carrier at the airport, and has gradually expanded its network there since 2005 when the airline first landed at the airport. In 2010, Kaunas Airport became the first airline's base in Eastern Europe and this resulted a more-than-doubled-route network expansion at the airport. The airport reported 77% growth in passenger traffic that year and also won the EURO ANNIES 2011 prize awarded by a weekly aviation e-journal

anna.aero ''anna.aero'' (Airline Network News and Analysis) is a weekly e-journal and website devoted to airline and airport network planning, written by experienced airline and airport network planners, with experience ranging from easyJet, Go Fly and Bir ...

as being the fastest-growing airport in Europe in the category of under one million passengers.

Catchment area

Almost a quarter of all passenger flow at the airport are travellers from the neighbouring countries Latvia,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Infrastructure

Terminal building

In 2008 the new three-storey terminal building was opened for passenger operations. The building can handle 800,000 passengers per year and the maximum capacity has been already reached in 2010, three years after the opening. The simple linear terminal design allows further expansions both ways. The ground level is designated arrival area and fully complies with Schengen regulations. There are all essential facilities for arriving passengers, including

bureau de change A bureau de change (plural bureaux de change, both ) (British English) or currency exchange (American English) is a business where people can exchange one currency for another. Nomenclature Although originally French, the term "bureau de chang ...

and car rental offices. The upper two levels are for departing passengers only. All 12 check-in desks are located on the first floor, where the passengers flow is separated to Schengen and non-Schengen departure zones through the security areas located on the first and second floors. The airport is not equipped with air bridges which suits the preference of airport's biggest client Ryanair of boarding and disembarking with steps. The terminal facilities also include airline ticket offices, tourism agents, several shops, bars and cafes throughout the airport.

Runway and apron

The runway of Kaunas Airport is 3,250m long and 45m wide, and is categorized with a 4E ICAO reference code. This enables to handle aircraft with up to 45m wing span and 14m main gear wheel span, which includes planes the size of a Boeing 747 or

Antonov An-124 The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...

. The runway is oriented along the dominant direction of western winds; it is also equipped with CAT II ILS equipment which allows Kaunas Airport to receive aircraft with minimum visibility meteorological conditions. Theoretical runway average capacity, when aircraft are landing or taking off, is 12 operations per hour. A new taxiway to improve the runway system was built in 2009. Further taxiway improvement works started in June 2013, expanding the southern part of the airport to construct a new 190m-long and 23.2m-broad runway by the end of 2014.

Maintenance facilities

Ryanair operates its own maintenance hangar at Kaunas Airport, which launched operations in January 2013. It can accommodate one aircraft at a time and performs C-type maintenance checks. The same year Ryanair has set to double its MRO capabilities at the airport and began construction of the second hangar in Kaunas. FL Technics has announced its plans to invest almost 4 million US dollars into high-tech aircraft maintenance equipment at its newly launched MRO hangar in Kaunas. The latest equipment will support FL Technics MRO centre in servicing both narrow and wide body modern aircraft, including Boeing 747 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Following the full implementation, of the investment strategy, the new FL Technics base in Kaunas will create almost 300 new jobs, including over 200 places for aircraft mechanics, engineers and other aviation technical personnel.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Kaunas Airport:

Statistics

The passenger traffic changes in late 2011 and early 2012 at Kaunas Airport are associated with the rivalry between Ryanair and Wizzair. As a response to the Wizzair's new base established at Vilnius Airport in Spring 2011, the Irish low-cost carrier moved

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

and Milan Bergamo routes from Kaunas to Vilnius in late 2011. In November 2012, Ryanair further cut route geography from Kaunas, by transferring Brussels Charleroi,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

London Luton London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

and Oslo Rygge to Vilnius, leaving only four routes available from Kaunas for the entire winter 2012/13 season. Some of the routes were restored in Summer 2013, including seasonal destinations. *

List of the busiest airports in the Baltic states This is a list of the busiest airports in the Baltic states in terms of total number of Passengers, Aircraft movements and Freight and Mail Tonnes per year. The statistics includes major airports in the Baltic States with commercial regular traffi ...

Most frequent routes

Ground transportation

Motorway

Due to its central location in Lithuania, Kaunas Airport is easily accessible via nearby A6 highway/ E262, which connects to the other main

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

s in Lithuania A1 motorway (Lithuania) and Via Baltica (E67). Taxis take around 25 minutes to get to the city centre.

Bus

Kaunas city centre is reachable by direct bus route no 29, operated daily by Kauno Autobusai. The express service 29E operates on the same route, but offers limited bus stops on the line. The direct intercity services to capital

and Lithuanian coastal city Klaipeda are also available from and to Kaunas Airport as well as regional low frequency bus links to and from

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

Biržai Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The nam ...

Ignalina Ignalina ( pl, Ignalino) is a city in eastern Lithuania. It is known as a tourist destination in the Aukštaitija National Park. Ignalina is also famous for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Visaginas. Legend It is said that Ignalina ha ...

, Kupiškis,

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...

, Molėtai,

Obeliai Obeliai (; pl, Abele, yi, אבעל Abel) is a small city in the Rokiškis district municipality of Panevėžys County, Lithuania. At the foot of the town is one of the area's many lakes. The town of Obeliai is small and quite poor, due in no s ...

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "- ...

Širvintos Širvintos () is a city in Vilnius County in the eastern part of Lithuania. It is the administrative center of the Širvintos district municipality. The word ''Širvintos'' is the plural form of the name of the Širvinta River, which flows thro ...

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...

Visaginas Visaginas () is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only town in ...

and

Zarasai Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the north – Lake Zarasaitis, to the southeast – Lake Baltas, and the east – Lake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasai ...

. The only international link to the airport is provided by Latvian operator Flybus, which runs the schedule to both Riga city centre and

Riga International Airport Riga International Airport ( lv, Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"; ) is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 76 destinations as of November 2019. It serves ...

. The services are based on the timetable of departing and arriving flights at Kaunas Airport.

Other facilities

The Airpark is a territory of Kaunas Free Economic Zone adjacent to Kaunas Airport (3 km border).

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Airports in Lithuania Airports built in the Soviet Union 1988 establishments in the Soviet Union

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Buildings and structures in Kaunas County International airports in Lithuania

History

Overview

Ownership

Operations

Catchment area

Infrastructure

Terminal building

Runway and apron

Maintenance facilities

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Most frequent routes

Ground transportation

Motorway

Bus

Other facilities

See also

References

External links