Riga Airport Handles More than 40% of the Baltic Region Passengers and Cargo in the First Half of 2017

 In the first half of 2017, Riga International Airport has convincingly retained its leading position among Baltic airports, servicing more than 40% of the region's passengers and cargo.

In the first six months of the year, Riga Airport handled more than 2.7 million passengers or 46% of the total number of passengers serviced at the airports of the Baltic States. 49% of the total air cargo volume were serviced in Riga. During these six months, the passenger figures increased by 8.7%, while cargo volumes went up by 2.4% as compared to the corresponding period of 2016. The total number of passengers handled in the Baltic capitals during the first six months of 2017 increased by 11.7%, reaching 5.9 million passengers.

Nearly 30% of the passengers serviced at Riga Airport chose Riga as a point of transfer for their onward trip to the 89 destinations offered from Riga. London, Moscow and Frankfurt were the most popular destinations in the first six months of 2017. Thanks to the new direct flight launched by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in March, the most rapid growth of 35.8% was recorded in the number of passengers travelling to Copenhagen.

“The development of Riga Airport in the first half of the year corresponds to the European average figures; according to the latest available data of the Airports Council International (ACI), there was an 8.8% growth in the passenger numbers in Europe in the first five months of 2017. These results show a sustained and stable growth of the Airport, which allows us to be sure that we will reach a new passenger record this year,” says Ilona Līce, Chairperson of the Board of Riga International Airport.

The national airline airBaltic carrying 1.4 million passengers, which accounts for a 52.6% market share, was the largest passenger carrier in Riga Airport in the first half of the year. AirBaltic was followed by the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair (16.9%), and the Hungarian low-cost airline WizzAir with an 8.5% market share.

As reported before, this summer flight season 89 destinations will be available to passengers travelling from Riga Airport. Altogether 17 passenger carriers operate flights from Riga Airport: airBaltic, Ryanair, WizzAir, Aeroflot, SAS, Finnair, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Utair, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, RusLine, Uzbekistan Airways, Belavia, Ellinair and Smartlynx Airlines.

Riga International Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltics. The 20 airlines operating at Riga Airport offer more than 60 destinations in the winter season and almost 90 in the summer season. In 2016, Riga Airport handled over 5.4 million passengers - nearly 45% of the entire Baltic air passenger traffic.