Vilnius Airport to be closed for a renovation until Aug. 17

Lithuanian aviation officials say that hundreds of thousands of airline passengers will be diverted for more than a month as the country's main airport near the capital will be shut for a major renovation.

Vilnius International Airport, with a single 2.5-kilometer (2,735-yard) runway, will close Friday until Aug. 17. Some 4,350 flights will be diverted — affecting 400,000 passengers — to two smaller airports, one in Kaunas, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Vilnius airport and the other in remote Palanga, 300 kilometers (185 miles) away.

Some airlines, including Ryanair, have canceled all scheduled flights until September, and several popular direct flights between Vilnius and Madrid, Liverpool and Malta will not be flown during the closure.

With 3.8 million annual passengers last year, Vilnius is among the fastest-growing airports in Europe.