Low-cost airline Ryanair is urging Lithuania’s airports to reduce their fees, which the carrier says are hindering its growth plans in the country.
The Irish airline said Wednesday that it does not plan any expansion in Lithuania for the coming winter season but remains interested in growing its operations if costs come down.
“There will be no expansion simply because of rising costs,” Ryanair Chief Financial Officer Jason McGuinness told reporters in Vilnius. “We will present a plan to the Lithuanian government. We want to expand in Lithuania, where we have already invested heavily. […] I believe we could double our traffic over the next few years.”
Ryanair said airport charges at Vilnius Airport are about 30% higher than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic and should be rolled back to their previous levels.
“We just need fees reduced to where they were,” McGuinness said. “Otherwise, there will be no expansion in Vilnius, Kaunas or Palanga.”
The airline argued that high airport fees are “holding back recovery, limiting connectivity and preventing Lithuania from reaching its full economic and tourism potential”. McGuinness pointed to countries such as Poland, Hungary and Sweden, which he said have reduced airport charges to stimulate growth, while “Lithuania is moving in the opposite direction”.
“Airports across Europe are competing fiercely for airline expansion, as few carriers are growing right now,” he said. “This 30% hike goes against that trend. There will be no expansion in Lithuania until this is fixed.”
McGuinness also dismissed the possibility that rivals could fill the gap if Ryanair slows its growth. “Wizz Air won’t be here in a year or two – it’s a bankrupt airline. AirBaltic only cares about Riga and won’t fill the space place in Vilnius,” he said.
Ryanair had planned to boost its annual passenger numbers in Lithuania to 2.8 million, open 10 new routes, and increase its local fleet from three to five aircraft.
Lithuanian Airports: routine Ryanair tactics
Lithuanian Airports CEO Simonas Bartkus, who met McGuinness on Wednesday, described the comments as a familiar negotiation tactic.
“These kinds of statements are standard Ryanair communication – they use them all over Europe,” Bartkus told reporters.
He said Vilnius Airport aims to keep its fees competitive and has no plans to raise them before 2026, despite growing costs and major infrastructure investments.
“I’d say that’s actually a good achievement for us,” Bartkus said. He added that Ryanair’s operations in Lithuania continue to grow, noting that the airline has not cancelled any routes – unlike in Estonia, where Ryanair is cutting five winter routes and reducing capacity by 40%.
Ryanair carried 2.2 million passengers in Lithuania over the first nine months of this year, a 9% increase from 2024. The airline operates 48 routes from Lithuania: 27 from Kaunas, 19 from Vilnius and two from Palanga.
Lithuanian Airports expect total passenger traffic across Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga to reach a record 7 million this year.
Ryanair last year announced plans to build a third aircraft maintenance hangar in Kaunas, a multimillion-euro investment expected to create around 150 jobs.
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