Riga International Airport

Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Latvia
ServesRiga, Latvia
LocationMārupe Municipality
Hub for
Built1973
Elevation AMSL36 ft / 11 m
Coordinates56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E / 56.92361°N 23.97111°E / 56.92361; 23.97111
Websiteriga-airport.com
Map
RIX is located in Latvia
RIX
RIX
Location of the airport in Latvia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 3,200 10,500 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Number of Passengers5,380,779
Passenger change 21–22Increase128.7%
Aircraft movements54,818
Movements change 21–22Increase40%
Cargo (tonnes)27,265
Cargo change 18–19Decrease3.5%
Source (excluding statistics): AIP at EUROCONTROL

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 Ryanair. 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, approximately 10 km from its city centre.

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The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.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.[2]

In March 1995, Uzbekistan Airways began a flight from Tashkent to New York City that stopped in Riga.[3][4] The carrier operated the service with an Airbus A310.[5] Due to poor demand, the airline rerouted it through Amsterdam three months later.[4][6] Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. Uzbekistan Airways moved the stop on its New York service back to Riga in October 2004. It employed Boeing 767s on the route. Closer ties between Uzbekistan and Latvia and the Latvian government's decision to lower the Riga airport's fees had encouraged the company to return.[4][6]

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.[7] Uzbekistan Airways terminated the Riga–New York flight in October 2017.[8]

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.[9] 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.[9] The B pier is used for Schengen Area departures and arrivals, while the C pier is for non-Schengen Area departures and arrivals. The terminal features outlets by Narvesen, Costa Coffee, and TGI Fridays amongst others, as well as a single airport lounge.[9]

Runway

The airport has a single runway in directions 18/36, which is 3,200 m in length and equipped with ILS CAT II.[10]

Other facilities

Both airBaltic and the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency maintain their head offices at Riga International Airport.[11]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Riga:[12]

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
airBaltic Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dubai–International, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Helsinki, Larnaca, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Marrakesh, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Palanga, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rome–Fiumicino, Stockholm–Arlanda, Tallinn, Tampere, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv (suspended),[13] Tenerife–South, Turku, Vienna, Vilnius, Zürich
Seasonal: Aberdeen, Agadir, Alicante (begins 27 February 2024),[14] Baku, Batumi, Bergen, Burgas, Catania, Chișinău (begins 4 May 2024),[15] Corfu, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Heraklion, Istanbul, Kittilä, Ljubljana (begins 2 May 2024),[15] Malta, Naples, Olbia, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Pristina (begins 4 May 2024),[15] Rhodes, Salzburg, Skopje (begins 2 May 2024),[15] Sofia (begins 2 May 2024),[15] Split, Thessaloniki, Tirana (begins 2 May 2024),[15] Tivat, Valencia, Venice, Verona, Yerevan
Seasonal charter: Antalya,[16] Patras,[16] Sharm El Sheikh[17]
Air Montenegro Seasonal charter: Tivat[18]
British Airways London–Heathrow
Buzz Seasonal charter: Kavala,[19] Tirana[20]
Finnair Helsinki
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya[20]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle Copenhagen, Oslo
Seasonal: Corfu (begins 4 May 2024),[21] Stockholm–Arlanda, Tivat (begins 4 May 2024),[22] Trondheim
Ryanair Barcelona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin, Bristol, Charleroi, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gdańsk, Gothenburg, Kraków, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Málaga, Malta, Manchester, Memmingen, Paphos, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Sandefjord, Stockholm–Arlanda, Treviso, Vienna
Seasonal: Aarhus, Cologne/Bonn, Girona, Trapani
SmartLynx Airlines[23] Seasonal charter: Antalya, Burgas, Corfu, Djerba, Enfidha, Funchal, Tenerife–South, Tivat, Varna
Transavia Amsterdam
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent
Wizz Air Kutaisi

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
ATRAN[24] Moscow-Vnukovo, Guangzhou, Krasnoyarsk
Aviastar-TU[25] Novosibirsk, Hangzhou
DHL Aviation[26] Leipzig/Halle, Vilnius
Eleron Airlines[27] Kyiv–Zhuliany
SprintAir[28] Kaunas

Statistics

Check-in hall
Hallway between piers B and C
View of the B pier
RIX terminal view from tarmac
Control tower

Route statistics

Busiest routes from Riga (2021)[29]
Rank City Share of total traffic Airlines
1 United Kingdom London 6.6% airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air, British Airways
2 Estonia Tallinn 4.5% airBaltic
3 Germany Frankfurt 3.9% airBaltic, Lufthansa, Ryanair
4 Ukraine Kyiv 3.8% airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air
5 Netherlands Amsterdam 3.6% airBaltic
6 Finland Helsinki 3.6% airBaltic, Finnair, Ryanair
7 Norway Oslo 3.3% airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle
8 Sweden Stockholm 3.1% airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Scandinavian Airlines
9 Germany Berlin 3.0% airBaltic, Ryanair
10 Turkey Antalya 3.0% airBaltic, Onur Air, SmartLynx Airlines
Top 10 most frequent routes from Riga as of September 2022[30]
Rank City Flights per week
1 Finland Helsinki ~44
2 Estonia Tallinn ~28
3 Lithuania Vilnius ~25
4 Sweden Stockholm Arlanda ~24
5 Norway Oslo Gardermoen ~20
6 Denmark Copenhagen ~19
7 Germany Berlin Brandenburg ~17
8 Germany Frankfurt ~16
9 United Kingdom London Stansted ~14
10 Netherlands Amsterdam Schiphol ~14

Largest airlines

Largest airlines by passengers (2021)[29]
Rank Airline 2021, %
1Latvia airBaltic57.2%
2Republic of Ireland Ryanair21.2%
3Hungary Wizz Air5.5%
4Turkey Turkish Airlines2.9%
5Latvia SmartLynx Airlines2.7%
6Norway Norwegian Air Shuttle2.1%
7Germany Lufthansa1.8%
8Finland Finnair1.4%
9Russia Aeroflot1.2%
10Others4.0%

Annual passenger numbers

Annual passenger traffic at RIX airport. See Wikidata query.

Ground transportation

Bus stop at Riga Airport

Bus

Riga Airport is accessible by bus line 22, 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 and Germany.

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.[31]

Incidents and accidents

  • On 17 September 2016, an airBaltic Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NextGen aircraft made an emergency landing without its nose landing gear deployed. The plane was carrying 63 passengers and 4 crew members and was forced to return to Riga 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.[32][33][34]
  • On 17 February 2017, a VIM Airlines charter flight to Ufa, Russia slid off the runway during take-off. The aircraft was carrying 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.[35] 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.
  • On 3 December 2021, due to heavy snowfall, an airBaltic Airbus A220-300 (YL-CSE) slid off the runway after the landing from Stockholm (flight BT102).
  • On 8 March 2023, an airBaltic flight from Paris slid off the runway while landing. None of the 89 passengers or 7 crew members were injured.[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Norwegian confirms Riga, Latvia base for 2Q24".
  2. ↑ "Airport at a glance". Riga Airport Website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Uzbekistan Airways marks 20th anniversary of launch flights to New York". UzDaily. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Novak, Alexey (1 November 2004). "Рига привлекает авиакомпании". Biznes & Baltiya (in Russian). Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "World airline report: 1994 - Europe". Air Transport World. 32 (6). June 1995. ProQuest 224308831.
  6. 1 2 Novak, Alexey (29 September 2004). "Узбеки отправятся за океан через Ригу". Biznes & Baltiya (in Russian). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Russia invests in Riga Airport". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Liu, Jim (12 October 2017). "Uzbekistan Airways S18 New York / Riga service changes as of 11OCT17". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 riga-airport.com - Terminal and territory plan retrieved 10 November 2019
  10. ↑ "Operational Facilities". Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Contacts." Latvian Civil Aviation Agency. Retrieved on 19 January 2012. "Civil aviation agency Address: Airport "Riga", LV-1053, Latvia"
  12. ↑ riga-airport.com - Flight schedules Archived 22 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 29 September 2019
  13. ↑ "airBaltic Halts Tel Aviv Flights until 2024". 19 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "AirBaltic announces 11 new routes for Winter 2023/2024, including Vilnius-Brussels and Tampere-Amsterdam". 12 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dolande, Rainer Nieves (29 August 2023). "airBaltic launches 11 new routes for the summer season 2024". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. 1 2 "airBaltic and Tez Tour announce charter flights to Antalya, Burgas and Araxos".
  17. ↑ "Flight Schedules and Airline Availability". tez-tour.com.
  18. ↑ "Air Montenegro to launch regular Baltic charters". exyuaviation.com. 24 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "100+ galamērķi vasaras sezonā".
  20. 1 2 "100+galamērķi vasaras sezonā".
  21. ↑ "Norwegian NS24 Network Additions – 14NOV23". AeroRoutes.
  22. ↑ "Norwegian NS24 Network Additions – 14NOV23". AeroRoutes.
  23. ↑ "Route map". smartlynx.aero.
  24. ↑ "ATRAN Route network".
  25. ↑ "Aviostar-Tu airline company history".
  26. ↑ DHL About us - Destinations retrieved 25 May 2021
  27. ↑ ""Eleron" uzsāk regulāros kravu pārvadājumus no Ukrainas uz Rīgu". Riga International Airport. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  28. ↑ "Numbers of cargo flights at Kaunas Airport to increase by a quarter during Christmas holiday period".
  29. 1 2 "Statistics" (PDF). www.riga-airport.com. 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  30. ↑ Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 30 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ "Riga Airport rail station contract signed". LSM. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  32. ↑ "airBaltic flight makes emergency landing at Riga airport". The Baltic Course. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  33. ↑ "17 flights diverted today due to closed runway at Riga Airport". The Baltic Times. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  34. ↑ "Incidents ar 'airBaltic' lidmašīnu ietekmējis 1341 kompānijas pasažieri" (in Latvian). delfi.lv. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  35. ↑ "Runway excursion Serious incident Boeing 737-524 (WL) VP-BVS, 17 Feb 2017".
  36. ↑ "Plane slid off runway in Rīga; no injuries". lsm.lv. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

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