This February Riga Airport Handles More than 400 000 Passengers
Operational performance data show that this February Riga International Airport handled more than 400 thousand passengers, which is the largest number of passengers serviced at the Airport in the second month of the year in the Airport’s history.
In February 2018, the Airport handled 404 485 passengers, which is an increase of 17.6% as compared to the second month of last year, and this is the first February in the history of the Airport, when the number of passengers exceeds 400 000. During the first two months of the year, 848 007 passengers were served at Riga Airport - an increase of 18.8% as compared to January and February 2017.
In January and February a total of 225 280 transit and transfer passengers were handled at the Airport, which is 20.1% more than in 2017. In February, 107 371 passengers chose Riga Airport as a transfer hub for their flights to further destinations, and it is an increase of 16% compared to February 2017.
Cargo sector also witnessed significant growth. In the first two months of the year, 5028 tons of cargo were handled at Riga International Airport, which is 72.2% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In February, cargo volumes reached 2567 tons, which is 60% more than in February 2017.
“The steady increase in passenger numbers that puts Riga Airport on the top 10 of the fastest growing European airports, requires that the Airport urgently increases its capacity,” says Ilona Līce, Chairperson of the Board of Riga International Airport. “In preparation for the summer season, which with more than ten new destinations is promising new passenger records, the Airport is planning improvements in the check-in and security control areas of the current passenger terminal. Yet our main task is to implement stage 6 of Airport expansion: to construct the new landside area of the passenger terminal, which will be connected to Rail Baltica railway station. Once this project is completed, the Airport will be ready to service up to 10 million passengers a year,” says Līce.
The expansion of the landside part of the passenger terminal planned within the framework of Riga International Airport development stage 6 will be a modern and multifunctional passenger service complex that will be connected to Rail Baltica railway station. The complex will have a spacious and modern check-in hall and security control area, offering new shopping opportunities, cafés and restaurants. The complex will also have a spacious luggage reclaim hall and highly functional luggage sorting premises.
Construction of the landside part of the new passenger terminal is scheduled to be completed in 2022, along with Rail Baltica railway connection and station. Both of these facilities will be integrated and interconnected to form a multi-modal transport hub. To ensure coherent implementation of the two projects, Riga Airport has also undertaken to supervise the design and construction of Rail Baltica Airport Station. A total of five applicants - international architect and engineer bureaus and their associations - have applied for the tender for the design of the new complex.
Riga International Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltics. The 20 airlines operating at Riga Airport offer more than 70 destinations in the winter season and almost 90 in the summer season. In 2017, Riga Airport handled over 6 million passengers - 45% of the entire Baltic air passenger traffic.