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 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.

Riga International Airport Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"
IATA: RIX ICAO: EVRA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Latvia
Serves	Riga, Latvia
Location	Mārupe Municipality
Hub for	airBaltic SmartLynx Airlines RAF-Avia Ryanair
Elevation AMSL	36 ft / 11 m
Coordinates	56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E / 56.92361°N 23.97111°E / 56.92361; 23.97111Coordinates: 56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E / 56.92361°N 23.97111°E / 56.92361; 23.97111
Website	riga-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 (2022)
Number of Passengers 5,380,779 Passenger change 21–22 128.7% Aircraft movements 54,818 Movements change 21–22 40% Cargo (tonnes) 27,265 Cargo change 18–19 3.5%
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The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.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]

Riga had nonstop flights to the United States between 2005 and 2017. Uzbekistan Airways employed Boeing 767s on a Tashkent-New York City service via the Latvian capital.^[3][4] However, once the carrier acquired Boeing 787s and began to fly directly from Uzbekistan to America, it decided to eliminate the Riga-New York City sector.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[6] 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.^[6]

Runway

The airport has a single runway in directions 18/36, which is 3,200 m in length and equipped with ILS CAT II.^[7]

Other facilities

Both airBaltic and the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency maintain their head offices at Riga International Airport.^[8]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Riga:^[9]

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens (resumes 18 May 2023)^[10]
airBaltic^[11]	Amsterdam, Athens, Baku (begins 17 May 2023),^[12] Barcelona, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubai–International,^[13] Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kyiv–Boryspil (suspended), Larnaca, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Odesa (suspended),^[14] Oslo, Palanga, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rome–Fiumicino, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Tampere, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Turku, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Yerevan (resumes 16 May 2023),^[15] Zürich Seasonal: Aberdeen, Batumi, Belgrade (begins 16 May 2023),^[16] Bergen, Bilbao (begins 4 May 2023),^[17] Budapest, Bucharest (begins 1 May 2023),^[18] Burgas (begins 2 May 2023),^[19] Catania, Corfu,^[20] Dubrovnik, Geneva, Gran Canaria,^[21] Hanover (begins 15 April 2023),^[22] Heraklion,^[23] Istanbul (begins 1 April 2023),^[24] Kittilä,^[25] Kos,^[26] Lviv (suspended), Malta,^[27] Marrakesh,^[28] Naples,^[29] Olbia, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa,^[30] Porto (begins 1 May 2023),^[31] Rhodes, Rijeka, Salzburg, Santorini,^[32] Split, Tenerife–South,^[33] Thessaloniki, Tivat (begins 4 May 2023),^[34] Trondheim, Valencia,^[35] Venice, Verona Seasonal charter: Antalya,^[36] Araxos,^[36] Sharm El Sheikh^[37]
Finnair	Helsinki
Israir	Seasonal: Tel Aviv^[38]
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa	Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle^[39]	Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim
Ryanair	Aarhus, Barcelona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin, Bristol, Charleroi, Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Kraków, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Málaga, Manchester, Memmingen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Paphos, Prague, Rome–Ciampino, Stockholm–Arlanda, Treviso, Vienna, Warsaw–Modlin Seasonal: Gdańsk (begins 28 March 2023),^[40] Girona, Trapani^[41]
SkyUp	Seasonal charter: Tirana^[42]
SmartLynx Airlines^[43]	Seasonal charter: Antalya, Burgas, Corfu, Djerba, Enfidha, Funchal, Tenerife–South, Tivat, Varna
SunExpress	Seasonal: Antalya^[44]
Transavia	Amsterdam (begins 30 March 2023)^[45]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent
Wizz Air	Dortmund (ends 12 February 2023),^[46] Eindhoven (ends 25 March 2023),^[47] Kutaisi, London–Luton

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
ATRAN^[48]	Moscow-Vnukovo, Guangzhou, Krasnoyarsk
Aviastar-TU^[49]	Novosibirsk, Hangzhou
DHL Aviation^[50]	Leipzig/Halle, Vilnius
Eleron Airlines^[51]	Kyiv–Zhuliany
SprintAir^[52]	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)^[53]

Rank	City	Share of total traffic	Airlines
1	London	6.6%	airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air
2	Tallinn	4.5%	airBaltic
3	Frankfurt	3.9%	airBaltic, Lufthansa, Ryanair
4	Kyiv	3.8%	airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air
5	Amsterdam	3.6%	airBaltic
6	Helsinki	3.6%	airBaltic, Finnair, Ryanair
7	Oslo	3.3%	airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle
8	Stockholm	3.1%	airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Scandinavian Airlines
9	Berlin	3.0%	airBaltic, Ryanair
10	Antalya	3.0%	airBaltic, Onur Air, SmartLynx Airlines

Top 10 most frequent routes from Riga as of September 2022^[54]

Rank	City	Flights per week
1	Helsinki	~44
2	Tallinn	~28
3	Vilnius	~25
4	Stockholm Arlanda	~24
5	Oslo Gardermoen	~20
6	Copenhagen	~19
7	Berlin Brandenburg	~17
8	Frankfurt	~16
9	London Stansted	~14
10	Amsterdam Schiphol	~14

Largest airlines

Largest airlines by passengers (2021)^[53]

Rank	Airline	2021, %
1	airBaltic	57.2%
2	Ryanair	21.2%
3	Wizz Air	5.5%
4	Turkish Airlines	2.9%
5	SmartLynx Airlines	2.7%
6	Norwegian Air Shuttle	2.1%
7	Lufthansa	1.8%
8	Finnair	1.4%
9	Aeroflot	1.2%
10	Others	4.0%

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.^[55]

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.^[56][57][58]
• 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.^[59] 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.^{[citation needed]}

See also

•  Latvia portal
•  Aviation portal

• List of the busiest airports in Europe
• List of largest airports in the Baltic states
• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
• List of airports in Latvia
• Transportation in Latvia
• Rīgas Satiksme (Riga Public Transport)

References

1. . Riga Airport Website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
2. "Russia invests in Riga Airport". www.baltictimes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
3. Hanley, Monika (11 February 2009). "The Baltics' eastward expansion". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
4. "Uzbekistan 2nd weekly to Riga & New York". Routesonline. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
5. Liu, Jim (12 October 2017). "Uzbekistan Airways S18 New York / Riga service changes as of 11OCT17". Routesonline. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
6. riga-airport.com - Terminal and territory plan retrieved 10 November 2019
7. . Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
8. "Contacts." Latvian Civil Aviation Agency. Retrieved on 19 January 2012. "Civil aviation agency Address: Airport "Riga", LV-1053, Latvia"
9. riga-airport.com - Flight schedules 22 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 29 September 2019
10. "Flight schedule".
11. "Timetable". airbaltic.com.
12. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
13. "AirBaltic announces flights between Riga and Dubai".
14. "airBaltic adds winter flights from Odesa to Riga".
15. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
16. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
17. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
18. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
19. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
20. "airBaltic launches flights between Riga and Corfu".
21. "AirBaltic announces new winter destination – Gran Canaria".
22. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
23. "AirBaltic to launch flights to Heraklion - Latvia in May". 8 April 2021.
24. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
25. "airBaltic launches flights to Kittilä".
26. "AirBaltic adds new flights – total of 96 routes in 2021".
27. Orban, André (21 February 2022). "airBaltic adds flights to Malta, Yerevan, Baku". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
28. "AirBaltic Announces New Winter Destination – Marrakesh". 14 June 2022.
29. "AirBaltic announces flights between Tallinn and Munich, and between Riga and Heraklion, Santorini, Naples". 9 April 2021.
30. "AirBaltic adds new flights – total of 96 routes in 2021".
31. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
32. "AirBaltic Eyes Greek Island Expansion with Crete & Santorini Flights". 8 April 2021.
33. "AirBaltic announces flights between Riga and Tenerife".
34. "Air Baltic verbindet Hannover mit Riga". 28 September 2022.
35. "AirBaltic adds new flights – total of 96 routes in 2021".
36. "airBaltic and Tez Tour announce charter flights to Antalya, Burgas and Araxos".
37. "Flight Schedules and Airline Availability". tez-tour.com.
38. Liu, Jim (21 January 2020). "Israir schedules new Eastern Europe routes in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
39. "Route map". norwegian.com.
40. "5 kolejnych nowych tras Ryanaira z Polski! Dużo wakacyjnych kierunków".
41. "Rayanir website". Ryanair.com.^{[not specific enough to verify]}
42. "Join UP! launches Latvia operations". CAPA. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
43. "Route map". smartlynx.aero.
44. Casey, David. "SunExpress Schedules New Summer Routes". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
45. "Transavia start ticketverkoop naar (nieuwe) zomerbestemmingen 2022" [Vueling starts ticketsales to new summer 2022 destinations]. Luchtvaartnieuws.nl (in Dutch). 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
46. "Wizz Air 1Q23 Network Adjustment – 08JAN23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
47. "WIZZ AIR NS23 ROUTES SUSPENSION SUMMARY – 11DEC22".
48. "ATRAN Route network".
49. "Aviostar-Tu airline company history".
50. DHL About us - Destinations retrieved 25 May 2021
51. ""Eleron" uzsāk regulāros kravu pārvadājumus no Ukrainas uz Rīgu". Riga International Airport. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
52. "Numbers of cargo flights at Kaunas Airport to increase by a quarter during Christmas holiday period".
53. "Statistics" (PDF). www.riga-airport.com. 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
54. Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
55. "Riga Airport rail station contract signed". LSM. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
56. "airBaltic flight makes emergency landing at Riga airport". The Baltic Course. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
57. "17 flights diverted today due to closed runway at Riga Airport". The Baltic Times. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
58. "Incidents ar 'airBaltic' lidmašīnu ietekmējis 1341 kompānijas pasažieri" (in Latvian). delfi.lv. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
59. "Runway excursion Serious incident Boeing 737-524 (WL) VP-BVS, 17 Feb 2017".

External links

  Media related to Riga International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• RIX Marks the Spot for Expansion
• Current weather for EVRA at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for RIX at Aviation Safety Network