Aviabaltika is an maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider that was once owned by Russian citizen Yuri Borisov, and it has announced that it will leave the Kaunas Airport after a court order which banned it from operating at the airport because of national security concerns. In return, the company expects fair compensation for its assets.
Lithuanian Airports, which leased the land to Aviabaltika, insists that the company must shut down operations immediately, as ordered by the court. Compensation for demolished buildings or other assets will be determined separately.
“This means that our operations at Kaunas Airport are paralysed,” Aviabaltika layer Andrius Budvytis, has told the BNS news agency. “We understand the court’s decision as an order to vacate the land that we use. We will naturally comply with the order and will not be bringing any new helicopters to the site or conducting any further operations.”
On October 10, the Klaipeda Regional Court issued a temporary ban on the company operating on its leased land and buildings at the airport, except for activities needed to vacate the site. The ruling took effect immediately and is not subject to appeal.
Lithuanian Airports told BNS that the regional court ruling must be implemented immediately. The operator of the airport also said that all work by Aviabaltika should have cased in July, when the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the MRO services provider was posing a risk to national security by operating within the security zone of Kaunas Airport.
Lithuanian Airlines asked the court to order Aviabaltika to demolish its office, warehouse, other engineering buildings, production facilities, helicopter repair workshops and its transformer station within three months after the court ruling took effect, as well as to remove any debris that is created by the demolition.
Budvytis says that Aviabaltika engages in manufacturing, which involves the repair and maintenance of Russian-made helicopters, as well as in the sale of new and used spare parts. This latter process can continue, because it does not require a physical presence at the premises. Halting manufacturing operations, however, is more complex.
“We just repaired a helicopter from Cameroon which is involved in international missions and needs to be delivered to the client,” says Budvytis. “If our operations are halted, we’ll likely seek clarification from the court as to whether that would be a banned activity. If we cannot transport the helicopter, we will have to dismantle it.”
Back in December 2023 Aviabaltika submitted a schedule to Lithuanian Airlines to say that it would take 24 months to vacate the site. The company, however, did not begin the process while the court’s final ruling on the government’s ruling against it was still pending, the lawyer added.
Source: BNS
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