European airports already interested in Vilnius Airport's balloon experience - operator

VILNIUS - With smuggling balloons from Belarus constantly disrupting operations at Vilnius Airport, other European airports are already interested Vilnius Airport's experience in dealing with such situations, Saulius Bartkus, CEO of Lithuanian Airports (LTOU), the operator of Lithuania's Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga Airports, says.

"Airlines (foreign airlines flying to Lithuania - BNS) probably need to be told first that this is a new type of threat. There are not many examples in Europe, and other European airports are interested in our practices for dealing with this situation," Bartkus told reporters at Kaunas Airport on Friday.

"Similar attacks are being organized in South Korea. But so far, airlines are probably adapting their operations to this situation," he added.

According to Bartkus, LTOU is in active contact with airlines, so he does not believe that people will choose fewer flights to Lithuania when traveling by plane.

"I think passenger confidence is very important, and we are actively working on that as well. If passengers remain confident and continue to choose air travel as the safest option, then there is no risk that flights will decrease," Bartkus explained.

Lithuania is in a very good position, having three airports relatively close to each other, he pointed out.

"I remember discussions that took place at one time that there are too many airports here. I think this situation shows that we don’t have too many airports, even in the new context, namely the context of threats..." the LTOU CEO says, asked what should be done to make regional airports stronger and more capable.

"As representatives of the aviation sector, our main goal is probably to ensure that flights are as safe as possible. Because as long as flights are safe, the key is to maintain passenger confidence that it is safe to fly here," Bartkus said.

Due to suspected smuggling balloons, Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed again on Thursday evening, affecting over 1,100 passengers and ten flights.

This was yet another disruption to airport operations over the last month due to balloons used to smuggle cigarettes crossing from Belarus. In October, Vilnius and Kaunas Airports were shut down several times, affecting about 150 flights and over 20,000 passengers.