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Traffic booms in the Baltic
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| 13 September 2005 |
Traffic booms in the Baltic
By Peter D O'Neill
Riga International expects to complete a USD10 million extension to its North terminal by the end of 2005, and reports double-digit growth in passenger and cargo traffic. By early August, the airport recorded over a million passengers, and secured the ACI Europe Best Airport Award in the one to five million passenger category. The airport expects to handle 1.8 million passengers in 2005, rising to 2.5 million in 2006.
The airport has routes to more than 30 destinations and these are increasing, including a number within the old Soviet network, the latest being Odessa in Ukraine. Growth has been running between 20-30 per cent each year since 1993 while Latvia's entry into the EU in May 2004 encouraged low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet to add Riga to their networks. Other carriers to report strong growth this year include Air Baltic (42 per cent) and Czech Airlines (36 per cent) and LOT Polish Airlines. Airport vice-president Andis Damlics says Air Baltic benefits from a partnership between the Latvian government (51 per cent) and SAS (49 per cent).
Low-cost carriers account for about 30 per cent of the airport's traffic. The balance of traffic includes about 50 per cent business travellers and the remainder tourists. Departing passengers spend an estimated USD18 per head on goods in the shops and restaurants.
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