Lithuanian Airports is launching an international lease tender to select a duty-free shop operator for Vilnius and Kaunas airports. The selected partner is expected to start operations at Vilnius and Kaunas airports in 2025. Applications are expected by the second half of September.
The future duty-free operator will lease and operate in a total of 2,574m2 of space at the airports in the capital and Kaunas. Currently, both Vilnius and Kaunas airports have Heinemann Duty Free stores operated by Travel Retail Vilnius.
A total of four international tenders for the selection of leasing partners have been announced or will be announced in 2024. The first to be announced was for an operator of an everyday convenience store. One tender has also already been launched for the selection of a catering operator, which will set up and operate six catering outlets at Vilnius Airport. The duty-free tender is the third announcement and, later this year, another tender for a catering operator will be launched for the installation and management of three further catering facilities.
Strategic infrastructure development projects are currently underway at both Vilnius and Kaunas airports: a new departures terminal is being built in Vilnius, the passenger terminal is being reconstructed in Kaunas. It is estimated that by 2025, these passenger terminal expansion projects will enable Lithuanian Airports to handle 10 million passengers per year.
In 2025, once the construction of Vilnius Airport’s new departures terminal is completed and all the systems required for the departures process have been relocated there, reconstruction of the existing space in the current terminal will begin, with the conversion of the existing terminal into commercially viable space.
In related news, Lithuanian Airports recently launched an international tender for a retail convenience store operator to lease about 515m2 of retail space to the operator, for three stores in Vilnius, two stores in Kaunas and one store in Palanga Airport. Click here to read the full story