RIX Riga Airport (Latvian: RIX Rīgas lidosta; 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 107 destinations as of September 2024. 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.
In March 1995, Uzbekistan Airways began a flight from Tashkent to New York City that stopped in Riga.[4][5] The carrier operated the service with an Airbus A310.[6] Due to poor demand, the airline rerouted it through Amsterdam three months later.[5][7] Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city.[citation needed] 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.[5][7]
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.[citation needed] In 2010, the first dedicated business aviation terminal of the Baltics opened at the airport.[8] Uzbekistan Airways terminated the Riga–New York flight in October 2017.[9]
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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10]
Runway
The airport has a single runway in directions 18/36, which is 3,200 m in length and equipped with ILS CAT II.[11]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Riga:[13]
Cargo
Statistics
Check-in hallHallway between piers B and CView of the B pierRIX terminal view from tarmacControl tower
Route statistics
Largest airlines
Annual passenger numbers
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. A shuttlebus service to the airport from the Riga International Bus Terminal was launched in 2024 by Lux Express. Moreover, there are international bus connections from the airport to cities in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany.
Taxi
Due to instances of overcharging passengers, a taxi voucher system was implemented in April 2024 that offers a fixed-price ticket for a trip to central Riga (right and left bank) by using companies which have received a special licence.[52] Other taxis and ride hailing services are also available.
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.[53]
Incidents and accidents
On 17 September 2016, an airBaltic BombardierDash 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.[54][55][56]
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.[57] 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]
On 3 December 2021, due to heavy snowfall, an airBaltic Airbus A220-300 (YL-CSE) slid off the runway after the landing from Stockholm on flight BT102.[citation needed]
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.[58]
^ a b c d e f"RIX STATISTICS REPORT 2023". 22 July 2024 – via riga-airport.com.
^"Airport at a glance". Riga Airport Website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^"Uzbekistan Airways marks 20th anniversary of launch flights to New York". UzDaily. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^ a b cNovak, Alexey (1 November 2004). "Рига привлекает авиакомпании". Biznes & Baltiya (in Russian). Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^"World airline report: 1994 - Europe". Air Transport World. 32 (6). June 1995. ProQuest 224308831.
^ a bNovak, Alexey (29 September 2004). "Узбеки отправятся за океан через Ригу". Biznes & Baltiya (in Russian). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
^"Russia invests in Riga Airport". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
^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.
^ a b criga-airport.com - Terminal and territory plan retrieved 10 November 2019
^"Operational Facilities". Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
^"Contacts." Latvian Civil Aviation Agency. Retrieved on 19 January 2012. "Civil aviation agency Address: Airport "Riga", LV-1053, Latvia"
^riga-airport.com - Flight schedules Archived 22 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 29 September 2019
^"AirBaltic announces 11 new routes for Winter 2023/2024, including Vilnius-Brussels and Tampere-Amsterdam". 12 May 2023.
^ a b c d eDolande, Rainer Nieves (29 August 2023). "airBaltic launches 11 new routes for the summer season 2024". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
^"airBaltic upgrades Ljubljana service". exyuaviation.com. 22 March 2024.
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