| Riga International Airport Rīgas Starptautiskā Lidosta |
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| IATA: RIX – ICAO: EVRA | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Republic of Latvia (Joint stock company) |
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| Location | Riga | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 34 ft / 10 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18/36 | 8,366 | 2,550 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2007) | |||
| Number of Passengers | 3,160,954 | ||
Rīga International Airport (IATA: RIX, ICAO: EVRA) was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve, which had become outdated. It is 13km southwest of Rīga, the capital of Latvia. It is the largest airport in the Baltic states and is directly connected by 60 destinations to 30 countries. Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. The airport is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the Latvian government. The holder of the state capital share is Latvia's Ministry of Transport. Rīga International Airport is a hub for airBaltic, LatCharter, RAF-Avia, Vip Avia and Inversija airlines.
In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened. This will permit the separation of passengers arriving at the airport from non-Schengen countries after Latvia joins the Schengen Agreement (30 March 2008 for air border crossings)[1]. The Latvian Government also plans to build another terminal capable of handling about 10 million passengers a year. The first part of this project will begin in 2008. 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. The airport also plans to build new hotels, a business park, a second pier, new parking, a second runway, a new control tower, a new high-speed tramlink to the city center, and a new check-in hall by 2013.
Rīga International Airport is one of three notable airports in Latvia. The other two are the Liepāja International Airport and the Ventspils Airport. Rīga International Airport's biggest air carrier is airBaltic. In 2007, the airport served 3,160,954 passengers, it is 27% more, than in 2006.
Contents |
Airport Magazine
The magazine GatewayRiga is available for visitors and passengers travelling through Rīga airport. It has information on new airlines serving Rīga, new destinations and routes, and other information about the airport itself and surrounding facilities. It is published three times per year by SIA Check-In Media.
Airlines and destinations
Scheduled airlines
The following airlines have scheduled services to Riga International Airport as of January 2008:
- Aer Lingus (Dublin)
- Aero Airlines (Helsinki)
- Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
- airBaltic (Ålesund [starts 20th April, 2008], Almaty [starts 17th April, 2008], Athens (seasonal), Baku, Barcelona, Berlin-Tegel, Billund [starts 1st May, 2008], Brussels, Bergen, Chisinau [starts 31st March, 2008], Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Gomel, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hurghada (seasonal), Istanbul-Atatürk, Kaliningrad, Kiev-Boryspil, Liepaja, London-Gatwick, Milan-Malpensa, Minsk, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Nice [starts 16th June, 2008], Odesa, Oslo, Oulu, Palma-Mallorca (seasonal), Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, Simferopol (seasonal), Sochi [starts 18th June, 2008], Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, St.Petersburg, Tallinn, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Venice [starts 16th June, 2008], Vilnius, Vienna, Yerevan [starts 14th April, 2008], Zürich)
- Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
- Czech Airlines (Prague)
- easyJet (Berlin-Schönefeld)
- Finnair (Helsinki)
- Germanwings (Cologne/Bonn [starts 2nd May, 2008])
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam)
- LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
- Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo, Trondheim)
- Ryanair (Bremen, Bristol, Dublin, Frankfurt-Hahn, Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Milan-Bergamo [starts 17th January, 2008], Nottingham-East Midlands, Shannon, Stockholm-Skavsta, Tampere)
- Scandinavian Airlines System (Stockholm-Arlanda)
- Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
- Uzbekistan Airways (New York-JFK, Tashkent)
Charter airlines
In addition, the following airlines also have charter operations (December 2007):
- airBaltic (Antalya, Rhodes, Rijeka)-summer season
- Hemus Air (Varna)-summer season
- Karthago Airlines (Monastir)-summer season
- LatCharter (Monastir, Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum, Dubai, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Hurgada, Heraklion, Tenerife, Goa)
- FlyLal (Hurgada, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Tenerife)-winter season
- Vip Avia
Cargo Airlines
Accessibility
Bus
Bus routes #22 and #22A (express) run between Rīga city centre and the airport. Departing every 10 - 30 minutes, the journey time is about half an hour. The fare is 0.40 LVL (0.57€) or 1.20 LVL (1.70€) if you are with large luggage. The airport unloading point is at the second terminal. To get on the bus at the airport, look for the bus stop located opposite the terminal, behind the car park. Taxi
The airport has signed a contract with Riga Taxi Park. The company office is located on the 1st level of the arrival area. Journey time by taxi is about 15 minutes with a fare of 1.50 LVL (base charge) plus 0.50 LVL/km. Getting to the city centre will cost you about 8 LVL (15€).
