Palanga International Airport

Palanga Airport Palangos oro uostas
IATA: PLQ – ICAO: EYPA PLQ Location of airport in Lithuania
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Lithuanian state
Serves		Palanga, Klaipėda
Location		Palanga
Elevation AMSL		10 m / 33 ft
Coordinates		55°58′24″N 021°05′38″E
Website		www.palanga-airport.lt/en
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
01/19	7,478	2,280	Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Number of Passengers			111,133
Runway 01/19 as seen from the South end. LIH (high intensity) runway lighting installed in autumn 2007

Palanga International Airport (IATA: PLQ, ICAO: EYPA) is an international airport located in the western part of Lithuania near the Baltic Sea. The airport focuses on servicing short and mid-range routes. The facility expansion completed in 2007 has made long-range route servicing a possibility. Since 1993, the number of passengers passing through the airport has been increasing annually. After Lithuania became a member of EU, passengers in 2004 increased more than 60% in comparison with that of 2003.

As of 2011, Palanga's airport is the third largest in Lithuania after Vilnius International Airport and Kaunas International Airport in terms of passenger traffic. Over two hundred people are employed by the airport facilities.

History

Palanga Airport started operations in 1937 at a site 7 kilometers East of the current terminal, near the Palanga-Darbenai road. The Lithuanian Air Force pilots were trained there. In 1939, the first scheduled airline service in Lithuania began operating on Kaunas - Palanga route.

From 1940–1941, and again in 1945–1963, the airport was used by the Air Force of the Soviet Union. The new air strip and facilities at the current site first appeared during the post-World War II period. In 1963, the airport was converted into a civilian airport.

In 1991, Palanga Airport was re-registered as a national airport owned and run by the state. In 1997, the airport joined the major international aviation organization ACI (Airports Council International).

Between 1994 and 1997, the passenger terminal was renovated. Passenger services and luggage handling was modernized to comply with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Between 1994–1995, the flight control center was refurbished. In 1996–1997 the runway surface, and in 1998 the airport apron and taxiways were renovated.

Infrastructure improvements continued in 2007 with the construction of North terminal to expand the terminals' area by 2000 m² as well as to comply with Schengen border crossing regimen.

In June–October 2007 the runway 01/19 was expanded to 2280x45 meters along with installation of LIH (high intensity) lighting and embedding the runway centerline lights.

Statistics

Year	Total Passengers
2001	45 660
2002	45 971
2003	46 666
2004	76 020
2005	94 000
2006	110 828
2007	93 379
2008	101 586
2009	104 602
2010	102 528
2011	111 133

Baltic's busiest airports by passenger traffic in 2010

Rank	City	Airport	Passengers (2010)
1.	Riga	Riga International Airport	4,663,692
2.	Tallinn	Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport	1,384,831
3.	Vilnius	Vilnius International Airport	1,373,859
4.	Kaunas	Kaunas International Airport	809,732
5.	Palanga	Palanga International Airport	102,528
6	Tartu	Tartu Airport	23,504
7.	Kuressaare	Kuressaare Airport	19,702
8.	Kärdla	Kärdla Airport	10,551
9.	Pärnu	Pärnu Airport	5,148

Terminals

Two adjacent terminals connected by short walkways and a transit area serve the airport. South terminal was built in the seventies and modernized in the late nineties. It has been serving as check-in area for all flights. The South terminal also houses airline offices and cafe/bar facilities. The new North terminal opened on October 26, 2007. 2000 m² (21520 sq. ft.) of space augment airport capabilities to serve arrivals and departures from and to non-Schengen zone countries. Because of one-level terminal buildings layout where both departures and arrivals are handled on the ground floor level, there are no jet bridges at the airport. Passengers are transported to and from the aircraft by specialized shuttles.

Public transport access

• Motorway A13 connects with Southern Palanga (7 km) and Klaipėda (32 km)
• A public bus links the airport with Palanga coach bus station .
• Scandinavian Airlines passengers are serviced by shuttle bus operating between Klaipėda and the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
airBaltic	Riga
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Oslo-Gardermoen
RusLine	Seasonal: Moscow-Domodedovo
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen

External links

• Official website of Palanga International Airport
• Airport information for EYPA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.