Lithuanian carrier Air Lituanica closes it doors for good

Lithuanian carrier Air Lituanica ceased flying from noon Friday, local time. The small airline, whose website credits it with operating an Embraer E-175, an Embraer E-145 and an ATR 42 said its management had decided to stop operations.

The final flights operated from Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, were to Amsterdam, Tallinn and Paris. Afternoon services to Berlin, Prague, Brussels and Stockholm were canceled.

Air Lituanica, which began services in 2013, said it had reached an agreement with airBaltic, from neighboring Latvia, to carry passengers booked on Air Lituanica’s services over the next eight days.

Attempts to reach Air Lituanica by telephone were unsuccessful. As recently as early this year, it had been announcing expansion plans.

AirBaltic said it would step into the breach and launch a series of new services from Vilnius from early September to six European destinations served by the defunct Lithuanian carrier.  It already operates services between the Latvian capital, Riga and Vilnius and also a Vilnius-Amsterdam service.

It confirmed that it would accept Air Lituanica passengers for the next week and that passengers booked for flights beyond that date would be offered “rescue fares” to their destinations.

“Our home market for airBaltic is Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia,” CEO Martin Gauss said. “We will consolidate and strengthen our services in our home market by offering more direct flights. We will rescue stranded passengers in the first days following the suspension of [Air Lituanica] flights and will offer special rescue fares for customers booked for flights later in the summer.”

In recent years, airBaltic has suggested that it would be sensible to have a single airline serving the small Baltic States. “Today’s event in Vilnius is a strong signal that the three Baltic countries should take a common approach to their aviation, to best support travelers, new economic activity and new jobs,” Gauss said.

Following Air Lituanica’s cessation of services, Estonian Air announced Friday it would nearly double frequencies on its Tallinn-Vilnius route from six to 11 beginning Monday. 

“We are planning to find out, together with Lithuanian Ministry of Economic Affairs, what are the possibilities for future co-operation to connect Vilnius with the rest of European cities,” Estonian Air CCO Indrek Randveer said.

(Alan Dron - ATWOnline News)