View source for Air Lithuania

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline        = Air Lithuania
| image          = Air Lithuania logo.png
| image_size     = 200
| IATA           = TT
| ICAO           = KLA
| callsign       = KAUNAS
| founded        = 13 September 1991
| commenced      = 
| ceased         = 23 November 2005
| hubs           = [[Kaunas International Airport]]
| secondary_hubs = [[Palanga International Airport]]
| focus_cities   = 
| frequent_flyer = 
| lounge         = 
| alliance       = 
| subsidiaries   = 
| fleet_size     = 3 (2005 est.)
| destinations   = 10 (2005 est.)
| parent         = 
| company_slogan = 
| headquarters   = [[Kaunas]], [[Lithuania]]
| key_people     = 
| website        = [https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.airlithuania.lt/Default.asp?DL=E airlithuania.lt]
}}

'''Air Lithuania''' ({{langx|lt|Aviakompanija Lietuva}}, literally: ''Air Company "Lithuania"'') was a regional [[airline]] based in [[Kaunas]] in [[Lithuania]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020806045559/http://www.airlithuania.lt/Default.asp?DL=E Home page]. Air Lithuania. 6 August 2002. Retrieved on 15 January 2010.</ref> It operated scheduled and charter flights, provided cargo services and aircraft rental. Its main bases were [[Kaunas International Airport]] (KUN) and [[Palanga International Airport]] (PLQ).

== History ==
Air Lithuania was established as a state-owned company on 13 September 1991 after the reorganization of [[Aeroflot]] division in Kaunas. It started charter flights on 15 February 1992. The first scheduled flight was in February 1993 from Kaunas to [[Budapest]]. On 17 July 1995, it was reorganized from a state-owned company into a Joint Stock Company. In August 1997, the shares of Air Lithuania were transferred to the parent company [[Lithuanian Airlines]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In May 2004, Air Lithuania was bought by Arijus, a Lithuanian transport and logistics company, and subsequently sold to World Aviation Capital, a British company.<ref name=amber>{{cite news|url=http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=8060690|title=Dalį sustojusios "Aviakompanijos Lietuva" skrydžių perims "Amber Air"|date=24 November 2005|work=DELFI|accessdate=8 May 2015}}</ref> At the time of the sale, the company had debts of approximately 20 million [[Lithuanian litas|litas]],<ref name=duobe/> while its annual gross income reached 40 million in 2004.<ref name=amber/> The airline filed for bankruptcy in November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kauno.diena.lt/dienrastis/kita/-rdquo-aviakompanija-lietuva-ant-zemes-nutupde-bankrotas-33058|title=KaunoDiena.lt - Tavo miesto naujienos|work=diena.lt|accessdate=8 May 2015}}</ref> It was the first airline bankruptcy in Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=8068496|title="Aviakompanijos Lietuva" klientų gelbėjimasis – jų pačių reikalas|date=24 November 2005|work=DELFI|accessdate=8 May 2015}}</ref>

In 2004 the airline carried 54,500 passengers (24% increase over 2003).<ref name=duobe>{{cite web|url=http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=7865279|title="Aviakompanija Lietuva" papuolė į duobę|date=3 November 2005|work=DELFI|accessdate=8 May 2015}}</ref> At first, the airline used [[Tupolev Tu-134]] and [[Yakovlev Yak-40]] planes, later leased [[ATR 42]].

== Accidents and incidents ==
In December 2004, the Air Lithuania ATR 42 operating for Lithuanian Airlines, touched tree tops and allegedly almost crashed at the approach to the [[Boryspil International Airport]] in Kyiv, Ukraine .<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=5695168|title=Vos neįvykusios Lietuvos lėktuvo katastrofos Ukrainoje priežastys - kitais metais|date=22 December 2004|work=DELFI|accessdate=8 May 2015}}</ref>

== Services ==
[[File:Air Lithuania ATR 42.jpg|thumb|Air Lithuania ATR 42-300 (in 2005)]]
Air Lithuania operated the following services (as of October 2004):<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041015074240/http://www.airlithuania.lt/?object=content&action=view&id=47 AB "Aviakompanija Lietuva" vasaros sezono tvarkaraštis] (archive)</ref>
* Domestic scheduled destinations: [[Kaunas]] and [[Palanga]]
* International scheduled destinations: [[Billund, Denmark|Billund]], [[Hamburg]], [[Malmö]] and [[Oslo]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.airlithuania.lt/ Air Lithuania] (archive)

{{Airlines of Lithuania}}

[[Category:Former Aeroflot divisions]]
[[Category:Defunct airlines of Lithuania]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1991]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 2005]]
[[Category:2005 disestablishments in Lithuania| ]]
[[Category:Aviation in Kaunas]]
[[Category:Lithuanian companies established in 1991]]

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