Airport, Cargo, China, Lithuania, Transport

"Those flights are down by about 50-60%. Today, only Chinese airlines fly from and to China, apart from one or two cargo airlines," Oro Navigacija CEO Mindaugas Gustys told. 

"Based on preliminary figures for February, about 500 transit flights were lost. But all other countries where they fly are affected, too," he added. 

It is already clear that transit flight statistics for March will be more modest than in the same month last year, according to the CEO.

A number of airlines that fly over Lithuanian airspace stopped flights to China in late January, including British Airways, Germany's Lufthansa, Air France, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss Airline. KLM Royal Dutch Airline halted flights to China in February.

Transit flights account for around 75% of all flights handled by Oro Navigacija and generate some 21 mln euros in annual revenue, or about 70% of the company's total revenue. Flights to China earlier made up around 4-6% of all flights via Lithuania daily.