Lithuanian airline gets rid of 'devilish' numbers

Lithuania's main airline is to change the code number under which its shares are listed to get rid of sixes at the end – giving way to a Christian tradition identifying the number 666 as a cipher for the Antichrist.

"It might look strange at first glance, but the meanings of numbers are still important in such an area as aviation ... For example, often there is no 13th row marked in the airplane," Linas Dovydenas, the head of flyLAL Group, told Reuters.

He said the airline's International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN) would be changed to LT0000127995 from LT0000126666.

The number 666 is used as the "number of the beast" in the New Testament's Book of Revelation and is seen by some as a cipher for the Antichrist – though its significance is hotly contested by scholars and theologians.

"We live up to the tradition, and therefore we decided to change our ISIN code, which ends in sixes," Dovydenas said.

Lithuania is a mainly Catholic country.

- Reuters