Visockas says military expansion must preserve Šiauliai Airport’s civilian role

Šiauliai Mayor Artūras Visockas says military infrastructure at Šiauliai Airport should be expanded without displacing civilian operations, which he says could create more than 1,000 jobs and generate revenue for the state budget, LRT reported Friday.

“NATO and the military base should not push out the civilian side, because the military industry is there precisely because of the civilian side. We have to assume a peaceful world, not a military one,” Visockas told reporters at the presidential palace.

He said the airport could continue developing aircraft maintenance and repair services, including work on planes arriving from abroad. Visockas said the activity could create more than 1,000 jobs and warned that dismantling it would deal a blow to Lithuania’s budget.

The state should consider the income generated by civilian operations as well as the cost of maintaining military infrastructure, he said.

Šiauliai Airport serves both military and civilian aviation. The Ministry of National Defence has said it does not plan to extend the lease for the civilian passenger terminal beyond March 2027 because the building is needed by Lithuania’s armed forces and NATO allies. Without the terminal, the airport could lose its international status.

The municipality has proposed integrating the airport into the Lithuanian Airports network and developing it as a cargo and aircraft maintenance and repair centre.