RIX Looking at Expansion...RIX -JFK Underserved..

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Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Riga Airport has managed to maintain its leading position among other Baltic airports. There were three scenarios for 2022: a pessimistic one, if the pandemic continued, an optimal one and an optimistic one. Riga Airport has now reached the optimistic scenario. By mid-October this year, Riga Airport already had handled more than 4 million passengers. There is a good expectation that Riga Airport will meet this year’s targets with surplus and be able to reach around 5.2 million passengers.


In the first half of the year, the number of passengers handled at the airport was 30% higher than expected, reaching 2.22 million, or 448% more than a year earlier.

The growth in turnover was positively influenced by changes in passenger structure: a significant increase in the number of direct passengers has compensated for the decrease in transfer passengers due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and related sanctions.


Compared to the EU average, recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been more moderate for Riga Airport, which is mainly due to two factors: Latvia, unlike many large European countries, does not have a domestic aviation market, while the war in Ukraine and the related flight bans have prevented the national airline from providing planned transit passenger services.
Looking at the Baltic States, Riga Airport is different from other airports in the Baltic capitals because the airport is an air hub and has an extensive route network and connectivity, with destinations complementing each other. Riga Airport also has a base carrier, airBaltic, working towards the same goal of making Riga a connectivity hub. Moreover, Riga Airport has the infrastructure in place that is suitable specifically for transit passengers and for transition to and from the Schengen Area.
New York the top unserved route from Riga

Riga Airport remains the largest airport and connectivity hub in the Baltics. Although the airport has the widest network of direct destinations in the Baltics, there are still opportunities that have not been explored.


New York is the top unserved route from Riga. New York-Riga used to be served by Uzbekistan Airlines, but currently there are no direct flights to North America from Latvia and the Baltics, so more than 230,000 annual passengers have to fly via connecting flights. London Heathrow is high on the wish list of the business community as well as passengers. Connectivity between Riga and the Balkan region – for example, Sofia, as well as Ljubljana in Central Europe, Kazakhstan and Armenia, should be improved, and Riga would be an ideal transfer point for further travel to the Nordic region. Bremen and Nuremberg are unserved and in high demand in Germany. Aalesund and Stavanger should be offered year long.

The Asia Pacific region is popular among travellers from Latvia, so Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi and Beijing are among the top unserved destinations from the pre-pandemic period.