Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Šiauliai International Airport, also known as Zokniai aerodrome, is a joint civil-military airfield in northern Lithuania that serves as the headquarters of the Lithuanian Air Force and a NATO Baltic Air Policing base. Its huge parallel runways, among the longest in the Baltic states, and its mix of fighter jets, transport aircraft and occasional civilian traffic make it a distinctive destination for the virtual pilot. The field's history runs from a 1916 German Zeppelin base through Soviet-era bomber operations to its present role hosting NATO quick reaction alert fighters.
Šiauliai International Airport operates as a civilian airport within Šiauliai Air Base, a major Lithuanian Air Force facility and one of the bases used for the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. It is owned and administered by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and while it carries international airport status, its civilian role is largely limited to aircraft maintenance, cargo handling and irregular flights rather than scheduled passenger services. For a sim pilot the appeal lies in its exceptionally long runways, its military character, and the presence of NATO fighter detachments alongside occasional heavy commercial types.
The airfield lies about 7 kilometres southeast of the city of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania, within the Šiauliai Air Base complex. As a NATO air base hosting the Baltic Air Policing mission and Quick Reaction Alert fighters, the surrounding airspace supports significant military activity alongside its civilian airport function.
The airfield has two parallel hard-surfaced runways aligned 14/32. The main runway, 14L/32R, is 11,458 feet long, lit, and equipped with an ILS. The parallel runway, 14R/32L, is 10,624 feet long and lit, but has no instrument landing system.
The tower callsign operates on 120.4 MHz. An ILS is available for the main runway, 14L/32R.
The Zokniai area was first developed for aviation between 1916 and 1917, when German forces built hangars there for their Zeppelin airships. The Lithuanian Air Force established Zokniai aerodrome in 1931 as a second air base to complement Kaunas, and it went on to house the 3rd, 4th and 5th squadrons, able to accommodate around 35 aircraft including Ansaldo A.120, Letov Š-20, Gloster Gladiator, de Havilland Dragon Rapide and the domestically produced ANBO 41; it also briefly hosted the aircraft Lituanica II. Concrete runways were first laid during the German occupation in 1943. After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania the base was taken over by Soviet forces, and by 1957 two parallel runways of 3.5 km and 3.2 km had been built to handle Ilyushin Il-28 jets, making it a major military airport capable of hosting jet fighters and strategic bombers; it was one of only six Soviet airbases able to handle the Myasishchev M-4 bomber. Following Lithuania's restoration of independence in 1990, the airfield reverted to the Lithuanian Air Force, was renovated for civilian use in the 1990s, and gained international airport status in 1994. It was further modernised in 2004 when Lithuania joined NATO, becoming a NATO air base for the Baltic Air Policing mission; the first NATO F-16 fighters, from the Belgian Air Component, landed there in March 2004.
Šiauliai remains the headquarters of the Lithuanian Air Force, with nearly all of its aircraft, including C-27J Spartan transporters and Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin helicopters, operating from the base. It continues to host the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, providing airspace security for the Baltic states including Quick Reaction Alert, and has received a variety of NATO allied aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS. Civilian activity centres on aircraft maintenance and cargo transportation, with companies such as J&C Aero and Aviatic MRO based at the airport; the passenger terminal meets Schengen requirements but is used only for irregular flights. As a military facility, the airport is open 24 hours a day and is not subject to noise regulations.
