I once again welcome readers to the beginning of a new series of reviews of recent flights.
This time the western direction was chosen for travel.
There is an excellent bus service from Minsk to Vilnius; there used to be a train service, but it was canceled due to COVID and has not returned (and there were once flights). Buses enter the airport in front of the Vilnius bus station.
I arrive at the airport late in the evening. Stop at the old terminal building, now here is the arrivals area
To the left is a new terminal with a departures area
I walk in and are immediately greeted composition representing the Pink Soup (cold) festival taking place in the city these days
The terminal is fresh, spacious, and not crowded at this time
On the second level there is a cafe hall, which at night closed, it can be used as a waiting area and the actual flight waiting area itself, where I had to spend the night before the morning flight
Morning is approaching, the scoreboard is almost all of Europe
Cafes are slowly opening, as well as currency exchange with a souvenir shop
The counters of my flight to Heraklion are already open for baggage acceptance. With airBaltic online registration is free, but at the counter it costs euros to register. I have the boarding pass in my phone, I check in my luggage and only get the luggage tag
Now the way to the gate is through security control on the second level
I scan the boarding pass from the screen, go through security control (last year the airport was equipped with new generation scanners, now there is no limit on liquid containers of 100 ml, up to 1 liter, please go through), there are no border guards on intra-Schengen flights. I go into the “clean” area of the terminal
It’s dawn and you can look at the awakening platform of Vilnius Airport
Halls with chairs for passengers throughout the terminal, giving way to cafes
Gates on the lower level for boarding buses
Sports area and nearby cafes, replenish lost calories on the treadmill
For those who like to smoke there is a corner
Where would be without Duty Free stores with their pink soup installation
Gates B for passengers traveling to Turkey and Israel, there are border controls
Photo exhibition of aircraft No. 1 arriving at the NATO summit held in Vilnius several years ago
The broken line of walls and glazing does not contribute to spotting
Точки регидрации присутствуют
На табло уточняю свой гейт
Мой борт в ожидании пассажиров, это Airbus A220-300 с регистрационным номером YL-ABG, in February 2022 left the workshop in Montreal, Canada and entered the airBaltic fleet, at the time of the flight 4 years and 3 months on board
Boarding begins, boarding tickets and passports are checked. Flight BT985 took place on May 29, scheduled departure at 06.55, actually departed at 07.16, scheduled arrival at 10.15, actually arrived at 10.12, travel time was 2 hours 56 minutes
I board, marked Starlink, airBaltic offers free internet from Elon Musk throughout the flight
I take my seat A on row 25 and look around while passengers take their seats. Seats in a 2+3 configuration
From the literature, logbook and instructions
In the absence of individual screens in the backs of the seats in front; the manufacturer’s decision to install small screens above each row is successful. They show the safety briefing, flight information, route map
All passengers are on board, and the board in economy was completely filled at a glance, the briefing has been completed and we start moving
Past E175 LOT to Warsaw and fellow
More and further into the runway
Without delay We immediately accelerate and take off from Lithuanian soil
We gain altitude above the suburbs and Vilnius itself
We take a course south and reach train
Soon the clouds covered the surface
There is no service included in the ticket price, I bought breakfast in advance and it was soon brought
After breakfast I leafed through the magazine, the direction diagram is impressive
It's still completely cloudy
We begin our descent and the pilot announces that we are over Santorini with its caldera
And here is the island Crete is nearby
We are landing at the airport of Heraklion, the capital of the island
And we land safely
The airport is small, the runway is short, after landing the brakes and reverse did not allow the board to roll for a long time. I go out on a sunny and warm Mediterranean day. Board on Greek soil
A short ride on the bus platform and now the terminal
Everything is nearby, the baggage claim hall and the arrival area, no borders or customs. I picked up my luggage and headed out
This is where I will complete the review and, as usual, draw conclusions:
Vilnius airport, departure terminal 5, new modern and convenient
airBaltic & A220 - 5, the airline delivers its functions comfortably for little money, the type of board is becoming for me the best type of narrow-body aircraft. Plenty of space, comfortable, quiet. Well done Canadians
Heraklion airport, arrivals area 4, the terminal is old and cramped, you won’t be crowded, but you won’t get lost. Apparently it copes with the flow, I haven’t noticed any construction projects to expand it.
Thank you for your attention to my reviews!
To be continued...
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