newstodate.aero

Oct 01, 2024 (newstodate): Lithuania's Siauliai Airport is fighting relentlessly to carve, and expand, a niche in the air cargo market.
   In 2023, the Board of Siauliai International Airport approved the airport’s strategy for 2023–2025, outlining steps to achieve the long-term strategic goal of becoming a growing cargo airport in the region.
   All plots within the airport apron area are already taken, while an auction for the last remaining plot of 2.3 hectares allocated to cargo and logistics activities failed to attract investors.
    -We provide a full package of ground handling; all airport infrastructure is in place, and the airport operates a 3,500 m CAT 1 runway - the longest in the Baltic region - and a second 3,280 m runway. Due to our location, no restrictions on air traffic apply, says Aurelija Kuezada, Siauliai Airport Director.
   One factor limiting Siauliai Airport's competitiveness in the air cargo market is its status as a joint commercial and NATO airport, which puts strict demands on security that would bar e.g. Chinese carriers from operating commercial cargo flights into the airport.
   Undaunted by these special conditions, Siauliai Airport is investing heavily in modern digitalization solutions transforming work processes, including advanced systems that allow faster and more accurate management of cargo flows and optimization of operations, as well as digital communication tools to enable efficient communication and collaboration in real-time.
    In 2022, the freight forwarding company Rava Cargo opened a neutral customs warehouse at the airport, becoming the first commercial cargo operator at Siauliai Airport.
   Owned jointly by Lithuania's Ministry of Defense and Siauliai Municipality, Siauliai Airport is independent of the management by the state-owned company Lithuanian Airports that controls the country's other international airports at Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga.