A cargo plane crashed in the courtyard of a residential house in Vilnius this week. The tragedy has sparked discussion about whether Vilnius Airport, located close to the city centre, poses risks to residents.
A 48-year-old Spanish national was killed and another Spaniard, a German, and a Lithuanian national were injured when a DHL cargo plane crashed near Vilnius Airport on Monday morning.
The aircraft was landing on the north side of the airport. Before landing, it flew over Saulėtekis, Pavilniai Regional Park, and the populated Markučiai district.
One of the advantages of Vilnius Airport is its short distance to the city centre, which can be reached in just 20 minutes. However, it also poses additional challenges when aircraft fly close to populated areas at low altitudes.
Historically, a military airfield for bombers was established on the site of the current Vilnius Airport in 1915 by the German Empire. Part of the airfield was converted into a civil airport in 1932 under the Polish occupation of the Vilnius region.
During the Second World War, the USSR occupied Lithuania and used the airport for military purposes, and in 1944, it became a civilian airport again. The terminal was constructed in 1946 and the main building in 1954. In 1962, a 1,600-metre runway was built, which was extended to 2,000 metres a decade later.
Different direction?
Vilnius Airport was established in the southern part of the city because, at that time, it served as a logistical and industrial hub, said former chief architect of Vilnius, Mindaugas Pakalnis.
“It started to develop when the Warsaw-St Petersburg railway was built. Then the ‘iron river’ appeared, which effectively separated the entire Old Town of Vilnius from the southern areas, which were then undeveloped. Naturally, industrial enterprises began to set up along the railway. This is when a more industrial area was formed,” he said.
According to Pakalnis, the Soviets concentrated industrial enterprises around the railway, and Naujamiestis also became an industrial district.
“Naturally – railway, logistics, airport. [...] When the airport is so close to the city centre, it’s an advantage because the city has grown. In terms of the development of the city, the southern part of the city has only recently become more attractive for living. Before, it was more dedicated to manufacturing and industry, which is why property prices were lower, and the socially weaker population lived there,” he said.
The southern part of the city was also suitable for the airport because of its terrain, the former chief architect of Vilnius stressed.
“It’s a fairly flat area, a plateau. In my understanding, the airport site was chosen quite successfully,” Pakalnis said.
There had also been discussions about changing the airport’s runway direction. According to Pakalnis, in the old general plans of Lithuania and Vilnius, there was a version of the airport’s runway turned from the north-south direction.
“It was conceived back in the Soviet era that the runway should be turned in an east-west direction so that planes would no longer fly over the city. Everything changed when the European Union border appeared 30 kilometres from Vilnius. If planes had to take off and land in the direction of Belarus, it would become a flight safety issue,” he explained.
“It is obvious that the decision [to change the direction of the runway] cannot be made for a long time. In the last decisions, the east-west direction was abandoned, and it was decided to leave it as it is, to extend the existing runway. It was calculated that it could accommodate many more passengers than it does now, so it was extended,” Pakalnis added.
Not a concern
According to Vincas Šnirpūnas, a lecturer at the Antanas Gustaitis Aviation Institute of VILNIUS TECH, the occurrence of aviation incidents is very rare, so planes landing close to Vilnius city centre should not be a concern.
“I think that [Vilnius city centre] is a safe region. Yes, it is close to the airport, but if we look at the number of incidents and the level of aircraft safety, it is a high level,” he told LRT.lt.
“As everybody is saying, this is the only crash of a transport aircraft during the period of independent Lithuania. [...] We are not immune to the possibility of an incident, it is always there, but it is very small,” he added.
Meanwhile, aviation expert Vidas Kaupelis noted that an airport located close to a city centre is not a rarity.
“This is the historical situation – cities grow, airports are located near cities. Naturally, if there are buildings near the airport, there is an additional risk that more people could be affected in the event of an accident,” he said.
Noise pollution
For some time now, there has also been a discussion about the noise of planes landing or taking off from Vilnius Airport. Former Vilnius Mayor Artūras Zuokas has even suggested banning night flights. However, Marius Gelžinis, former head of Lithuanian Airports believes that the noise level is not harmful to the city’s residents.
“Again, there are many examples of airports located in the city, such as Warsaw Chopin Airport, which handles many more passengers than Vilnius Airport,” Gelžinis said.
“Of course, if Lithuania has the ambition to serve about 14 million passengers a year, Vilnius Airport would probably handle about 10–11 million passengers, and then there may be challenges because [...] the infrastructure at the airport would have to serve three times more people,” he added.
Tadas Vasiliauskas, spokesman for Lithuanian Airports, also said that in the European and global context, airports next to larger cities are not uncommon.
“A further example would be London City Airport in the city centre, and in terms of neighbouring countries and their airports, for example, Riga, Tallinn, or Warsaw, these are cities where the main airports are located right next to the city centre, with a distance between the airport and the city centre being 4–10 kilometres,” Vasiliauskas said.
According to experts, the location of an airport is not a risk factor in today’s context, so there is no reason to speculate about it in public space.
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