Rīga airport passenger number down 95% in February

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In February 2021, the number of passengers serviced at Riga International airport fell to the lowest level since flights were resumed in May 2020, according to the airport's data published March 11.

24,000 passengers were serviced in February, with the number of travelers decreasing by 95.1% compared to last year. In particular, transit flows continue to decrease – the number of travelers using the airport as a transit center to travel to other destinations represented only 14% of the total passenger volume.

Before the pandemic, Riga airport was the main transit hub of the Baltic region, accounting for a quarter of all passengers at Riga airport.

In total, during the first two months of 2021, Riga airport serviced 74.4 thousand passengers, 92.7% less than during the corresponding period of last year.

Laila Odiņa, Chair of the Riga Airport Board, said that “the significant drop in passenger numbers is mainly due to flight restrictions, which have so far been more severe in Latvia than elsewhere in Europe, including in neighboring countries Lithuania and Estonia, undermining the competitiveness of Riga airport. I am therefore pleased that the government has decided to allow flights to third countries, which will allow the airport to restore transit passenger traffic and to preserve the benefits of the region's main air traffic hub.”

The majority, or nearly 75%, of the passengers serviced by Riga airport were transported by the national airline airBaltic in February, 6.7% by the German airline Lufthansa and the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, 3.6% by the Finnish airline Finnair, while 1.9% by the Hungarian low-price carrier Wizz Air.

During the first two months of the year, 2,825 aircraft arrived and landed at Riga, 77.4% less than last year during this period. Passenger flights have decreased by 88.2%, while the number of cargo and other flights has increased by 39.5% and 30.8%, respectively.

In January this year, only slightly more than 50 000 passengers were served at Riga airport – 90.4% fewer travelers than in  January 2020. Meanwhile, in 2020, only 2.01 million passengers were served at Riga airport, 74.2% fewer than a year earlier.

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