Lithuania’s government has registered a draft resolution aiming to name Vilnius Airport after Mikolajus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, one of the country’s cultural icons. However, the reactions so far have been mixed.
The renaming would coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer and painter. If the resolution is approved, the airport would bear his name from 2025 until the end of 2029.
Tadas Vasiliauskas, a representative of the state-owned Lithuanian Airports, is sceptical.
“The desired scope of specific actions is unclear, there is no action plan and, most importantly, the issue of financing [...]is not clear, we are convinced that this should not be done from the funds of the airport,” he said.
The airport’s adopted strategy focuses on infrastructure and business, not promoting the works of Čiurlionis, he added. If the name is adopted, it will require the airports to rework some of that strategy.
“And 2025 is a period of very important strategic infrastructure projects and changes for us,” Vasiliauskas said.
Transport and Communications Minister Marius Skuodis also spoke out against the renaming idea.
“There are plenty of spaces at Vilnius Airport where paintings and music can be presented, but let's not talk about changing the name,” he said on Wednesday.
According to the minister, foreign nationals would struggle to pronounce the name.
Lina Venskaitytė, a communications expert, told LRT.lt that previous campaigns to increase tourism and the visibility of the country have not always been successful.
“If the aim is to stand out, the question is whether this is the best name to achieve the goal,” she said. “If the aim is to raise the profile of Čiurlionis, then changing the name will not contribute to that, we need other means to show his works.”
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