Riga Airport closed 2019 with an increase of 10.5% in passenger numbers, handling more than 7.8 million passengers, an increase of 741,800 compared to last year 2018. The total is more than four times that of Latvia's population of 1.9 million.
“The growth figures for 2019 confirm the steady and undisputed leadership of Riga Airport in the Baltics," said Ilona Līce, Riga Airport Chairwoman, who added that the figures "also prove that the Baltic market for Riga Airport is becoming too narrow" and that it will need to look further afield in its destination list "to become a growing aviation center in Northern Europe."
The largest air carrier at Riga Airport is the national airline airBaltic with a market share of 58.5%. The second largest carrier at Riga airport is the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair with 13.4%, while the third-placed is Hungarian low-cost carrier WizzAir with 7.7%. The top 5 at Riga airport is completed by Norwegian with 3.9% and Aeroflot with 2.8% market share.
A large part of the growth came from the number of transit passengers, who account for nearly one third of the travellers passing through. The number of transfer and transit passengers at Riga Airport increased by 19.4% last year, reaching 2.4 million.
“In order to expand the network of Riga routes into new markets, in 2020 the airport will continue the development of long-haul flights in both passenger and cargo segments. Our target markets are the United States, China and other countries in the Asian region," said Līce.
Riga Airport offers over 70 destinations in winter and over 100 in summer, provided by 20 airlines.
