Beating the lockdown blues: Lithuanian International Airport turns into drive-in cinema amid Covid-19 crisis

Lithuania has come up with a novel way to keep the entertainment going and what better way than cinema to beat the lockdown blues. With nearly all flights grounded due to COVID-19, Lithuania's largest international airport in Vilnius has been converted into a drive-in cinema.

The first movie screening saw 150 cars coming in and it is stated that the screenings at the airport will continue into May.

It is for the first time in the history of this airport when the airside apron of Vilnius Airport has been turned into a drive-in cinema. The project has been named "Aerocinema – The Journey Begins" and it will run until the end of May.

The first movie that people showed up for watching was the Oscar-winning South Korean drama Parasite on Wednesday.

The Govt there has allowed only two adults per car and the cars have to be parked two metres apart ensuring that social distancing measures are followed.

Every week there are movies from different continents and this is actually the theme; airport's travel.

Dainius Čiuplys, head of Vilnius International Airport, said, "Implementing this project was a pleasant challenge for us – we had to transform the airport apron, which is usually a restricted area, into a space open to film lovers."

He added that it is actually very exciting to be a part of such a project. The organizers are also using this opportunity to demonstrate how airports can perfectly combine aviation activities with events and projects of various formats.

The country is under a nationwide quarantine and this has led to the movie theatres being shut down. This seemed to be a lucrative opportunity for the organizers of the Vilnius Film Festival to screen films out in the open.

Those who came in to see the movie were asked to keep their windows closed and stay inside the cars at all times.

Despite these restrictions, moviegoers were delighted to be there. For most, it was a chance to go out after staying at home for so long. The makeshift drive-in cinema is sold out for the next couple of days.

Vilnius was planning to hold an international film festival but due to the lockdown it could not happen but this opportunity was taken up by the organizers to arrange for the fest but with slight changes.