OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2008. President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus draws the attention of Algirdas Butkevicius, Minister of Transport and Communications, to the long-standing and unresolved problems of management of Vilnius International Airport, reported the Official website www.president.lt.

This infrastructural object of importance not only to Lithuania, but also to the entire Baltic region is increasingly losing the battle of competition for passengers to Latvian and Estonian airports despite the fact that Lithuania is ahead of its neighbors in terms of volumes of common economic activities and the number of population.

Investors also complain about the high prices and fees for services provided by Vilnius Airport. It is therefore not incidentally that discussions are going on in the public space about conflicts between the two major airline companies operating in Vilnius and between the Lithuanian-capital airline company and the Airport.

President Adamkus notes that as favorable conditions for travels to Lithuania as possible must be created in its main airport, not least as Lithuania is issuing invitations to visit Vilnius in 2009 when Vilnius will be the European Capital of Culture and when Lithuania will celebrate the Millennium of Its First Mention in Written Sources.  The President urges the Minister to assess the situation in Vilnius Airport with a heavy hand and to look for ways to combine the private initiative and advanced management methods and to develop partnerships in a transparent way.

The issue of Vilnius Airport activities is among the main points that the President will raise to the new minister of transport and communications. Efficient planning and administration of activities of this object has a large impact on Lithuania's competitiveness and its attractiveness to investors, and the image of the country.