Riga International Airport

Riga International Airport (Latvian: Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"; IATA: RIX, ICAO: EVRA) is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 76 destinations as of November 2019. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines and RAF-Avia, and as one of the base airports for Wizz Air. The Latvian national carrier airBaltic is the largest carrier that serves the airport, followed by Ryanair. The airport is located in the Mārupe Municipality west of Riga, approx. 10 km from its city centre.

Riga International Airport

Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Latvia
OperatorTAV Airports
ServesRiga, Latvia
LocationMārupe Municipality
Hub for
Elevation AMSL36 ft / 11 m
Coordinates56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E
Websiteriga-airport.com
Map
RIX
Location of the airport in Latvia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 3,200 10,500 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Number of Passengers7,798,382
Passenger change 18–1910.5%
Aircraft movements87,007
Movements change 18–194.2%
Cargo (tonnes)27,265
Cargo change 18–193.5%
Source (excluding statistics): AIP at EUROCONTROL

History

The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated. It is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia. The holder of the state capital share is Latvia's Ministry of Transport.[1]

Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. In 2006 and 2016, the new north terminal extensions were opened. A maintenance, repair and overhaul facility was opened in the autumn of 2006, to be run as a joint venture between two local companies: Concors and SR-Technik. In 2010, the first dedicated business aviation terminal of the Baltics opened at the airport.[2]

Facilities

Terminal

The airport features a single, two-storey passenger terminal building which has been expanded and upgraded to modern standards several times in recent years. The landside consists of a main hall containing a single row of 36 check-in counters as well as some shops and the security area on the upper floor while the arrivals area, baggage reclaim and some service counters are located on the ground floor below.[3] The airside features departure areas B and C split up into two piers with the former original, smaller boarding area A now only used for some arrivals. Both piers feature overall eight stands with jetbridges plus four walk-boarding stands from the upper level as well as several more gates for bus boarding on their ground levels.[3] The terminal features outlets by Narvesen, Costa Coffee, and TGI Fridays amongst others as well as a single airport lounge.[3]

Runway

The airport has a single runway in directions 18/36, which is 3,200 m in length and equipped with ILS CAT II.[4]

Other facilities

Both airBaltic and the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency maintain their head offices at Riga International Airport.[5]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Riga:[6]

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
airBaltic[7] Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kaliningrad, Kyiv–Boryspil, Larnaca, Liepāja, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Milan–Malpensa, Minsk, Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Munich, Oslo, Palanga, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Saint Petersburg, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Turku, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Zürich
Seasonal: Aberdeen (resumes 30 March 2021),[8] Abu Dhabi, Almaty (resumes 28 March 2021),[8] Baku (begins 28 April 2021),[8] Bergen (begins 30 March 2021),[8] Catania, Dubrovnik, Kazan (resumes 3 May 2021),[8] Kittilä ,[9] Manchester (begins 2 June 2021),[8] Odessa, Olbia (resumes 22 May 2021),[8] Palma de Mallorca (resumes 2 May 2021),[8] Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rhodes (resumes 24 April 2021),[8] Rijeka, Salzburg, Split, Stavanger (begins 27 April 2021),[8] Thessaloniki (resumes 11 May 2021),[8] Trondheim (begins 1 June 2021),[8] Venice (resumes 1 May 2021),[8] Yekaterinburg (begins 31 March 2021),[8] Yerevan (begins 2 May 2021)[8]
Seasonal charter: Antalya,[10] Burgas,[10] Gran Canaria,[11] Heraklion,[10] Hurghada,[11] Sharm El Sheikh[11]
Belavia Minsk
Corendon Airlines Seasonal charter: Heraklion[12]
Ellinair Seasonal charter: Heraklion
Finnair Helsinki
Holiday Europe Seasonal charter: Hurghada,[13] Sharm El Sheikh[14]
Israir Seasonal: Tel Aviv[15]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim
Seasonal: Bergen
Pobeda Moscow–Vnukovo
Ryanair Barcelona, Bergamo, Berlin, Charleroi Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, East-Midlands,[16] Edinburgh, London–Stansted, Malta, Manchester (resumes 30 March 2021),[17] Paphos, Prague Treviso (begins 30 March 2021),[18] Vienna[19]
Scandinavian AirlinesStockholm–Arlanda
SmartLynx Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya,[20] Burgas,[20] Corfu,[20] Djerba,[20] Enfidha, Funchal,[20] Heraklion,[20] Rhodes,[20] Tenerife–South,[20] Tivat,[20] Varna[20]
TransaviaParis–Orly[21]
Turkish AirlinesIstanbul
Utair Moscow–Vnukovo
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent
Wizz Air Bergen, Birmingham,[22][23] Doncaster/Sheffield, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Kutaisi, Kyiv–Zhuliany, London–Luton, Reykjavik–Keflavik,[22][23] Sandefjord, Stockholm–Skavsta[22][23]

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Eleron Kyiv–Zhuliany[24]

Statistics
Check-in hall
Hallway between piers B and C
View of the B pier
Control tower

Route statistics
Busiest routes from Riga (2018)[25]
Rank City Passengers Airlines Change vs 2017
1 London 602,067 airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air 4.2%
2 Moscow 562,702 Aeroflot, airBaltic, Utair 14.0%
3 Helsinki 310,469 airBaltic, Finnair 8.5%
4 Oslo 294,082 airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle 9.7%
5 Stockholm 293,704 airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian 18.8%
6 Frankfurt 279,314 airBaltic, Lufthansa, Ryanair 3.5%
7 Berlin 272,916 airBaltic, Ryanair 10.6%
8 Tallinn 245,516 airBaltic 10.9%
9 Kyiv 230,734 airBaltic, Ukraine International, Wizz Air 36.4%
10 Copenhagen 225,573 airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle 12.8%
Largest airlines by passengers [26][27]
Rank Airline 2018, % 2019, %
1airBaltic54.3%58.5%
2Ryanair15.1%13.4%
3Wizz Air8.4%7.7%
4Norwegian Air Shuttle4.2%3.9%
5Aeroflot3.1%2.8%
6Lufthansa2.6%
7SmartLynx Airlines2.5%
8Ukraine International Airlines1.6%
9Finnair1.6%
10SAS1.4%

Annual passenger numbers (in millions)

Update: January – December 2020[28]

Ground transportation
Bus stop at Riga Airport

Bus

Riga Airport is accessible by bus line 22 and mini bus line 322, operated by Rīgas Satiksme, which runs between Riga city centre and the airport. Moreover, there are international bus connections from the airport to cities in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Russia and Belarus.

Car

Riga Airport can be reached by car via the highway P133 which connects the airport with European route E22. The airport has 3 car parking areas, with ~1500 parking spaces, offering both short- and long-term parking.

Rail

An airport train station is included as part of the Rail Baltica project. A contract for construction design was signed on 20 March 2018.[29]

Incidents and accidents
  • On 17 September 2016, an airBaltic Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NextGen aircraft made an emergency landing on the runway of Riga International Airport without its nose landing gear deployed. The plane was carrying 63 passengers and 4 crew members and was forced to return to Riga International Airport following issues with its front chassis. The runway was closed between 10:26 and 15:55 as a safety precaution following an emergency landing. Seven inbound flights and four outbound flights were cancelled, 17 flights were diverted to Tallinn Airport and Kaunas Airport and others were delayed. The aircraft involved was YL-BAI and the flight BT 641 was scheduled to fly from Riga to Zürich Airport. No injuries were reported.[30][31][32]
  • On 17 February 2017, a VIM Airlines charter flight to Ufa, Russia slid off the runway during take-off. The aircraft carried the Togliatti Lada ice hockey club team, including 40 passengers and 7 crew members. No injuries were reported. The aircraft's engine was damaged as it hit airport equipment.[33] The runway was inspected and closed for three hours after the incident. Flights were diverted to Tallinn Airport and Kaunas Airport and others were delayed.

See also

References
  1. "Airport at a glance". Riga Airport Website.
  2. "Russia invests in Riga Airport". www.baltictimes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  3. riga-airport.com - Terminal and territory plan retrieved 10 November 2019
  4. "Operational Facilities". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. "Contacts." Latvian Civil Aviation Agency. Retrieved on 19 January 2012. "Civil aviation agency Address: Airport "Riga", LV-1053, Latvia"
  6. riga-airport.com - Flight schedules retrieved 29 September 2019
  7. airbaltic.com – Timetable retrieved 27 September 2020
  8. Liu, Jim (9 July 2020). "airBaltic S21 Riga network changes as of 08JUL20". routesonline.com.
  9. Liu, Jim. "airBaltic resumes Kittila service from late-Dec 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  10. "airBaltic to operate charter flights for Tez Tour Latvija". worldairlinenews.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  11. "Flight Schedules and Airline Availability". tez-tour.com.
  12. Liu, Jim (27 January 2020). "Corendon Airlines S20 Network expansion". routesonline.com.
  13. "Hurghada". TUI.lv.
  14. "Sharm El Sheikh". TUI.lv.
  15. Liu, Jim (21 January 2020). "Israir schedules new Eastern Europe routes in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  16. https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en
  17. https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en
  18. https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-announces-new-base-at-venice-treviso-2-based-aircraft-200m-investment-and-18-new-routes/
  19. Liu, Jim. "Ryanair / Laudamotion S20 network consolidation as of 18JUN20". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. "Novaturas Flights en". Novaturas flights.
  21. http://travelnews.lv/index.php?m_id=18276&i_id=5&pub_id=118597
  22. https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/about-us/news/2020/08/14/wizz-air-announces-its-expansion-in-riga
  23. Liu, Jim. "Wizz Air 4Q20 new routes launch revision as of 25SEP20". Routesonline. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  24. ""Eleron" uzsāk regulāros kravu pārvadājumus no Ukrainas uz Rīgu". Riga International Airport. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  25. "Statistics" (PDF). www.riga-airport.com. 2018.
  26. http://www.riga-airport.com/uploads/files/Rix%20gadagramata_2018_FINAL.pdf
  27. http://www.riga-airport.com/lv/main/zinas/aktuali/lidosta-riga-gadu-nosledz-ar-10-5-pasazieru-skaita-pieaugumu
  28. "Passengers statistics" (PDF). Riga Airport Website.
  29. "Riga Airport rail station contract signed". LSM. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  30. "airBaltic flight makes emergency landing at Riga airport". The Baltic Course. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  31. "17 flights diverted today due to closed runway at Riga Airport". The Baltic Times. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  32. "Incidents ar 'airBaltic' lidmašīnu ietekmējis 1341 kompānijas pasažieri" (in Latvian). delfi.lv. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  33. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=193673

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