Riga International Airport Rīgas Starptautiskā Lidosta
IATA: RIX – ICAO: EVRA
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Republic of Latvia (Joint stock company)
Location		Riga, Latvia
Hub for		airBaltic
Elevation AMSL		36 ft / 11 m
Coordinates		56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E / 56.92361°N 23.97111°E / 56.92361; 23.97111 (Riga International Airport)Coordinates: 56°55′25″N 023°58′16″E / 56.92361°N 23.97111°E / 56.92361; 23.97111 (Riga International Airport)
Website		www.riga-airport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
18/36	3,200	10,500	Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Number of Passengers			3,690,549
Source (excluding statistics): AIP at EUROCONTROL[1]

Riga International Airport (IATA: RIX, ICAO: EVRA) was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve, which had become outdated. It is 5.4 NM (10.0 km; 6.2 mi) west^[1] of Riga, the capital of Latvia. It is the largest airport in the Baltic states and is directly connected to over 60 destinations in 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. Riga International Airport is a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines, RAF-Avia, Vip Avia and Inversija airlines.

In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened. The airport has three terminals: A & C for non-Schengen, and B for Schengen departures. Arrivals 1, in terminal A, handles the Schengen arrivals, while Arrivals 2, in terminal C, handles the non-Schengen arrivals. ^[2] Also, 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 Latvian Government also plans to build another terminal capable of handling 20 million passengers a year. The first part of this project began in 2008. 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 tram link or railway to the city centre, and a new check-in hall, all by 2011. The airport is currently soliciting bids for airport expansion that encompasses, as the first stage, a construction of a new (fourth) terminal with 23 gates facing north, and in the second stage, seamlessly joining the current airport terminals with the new terminal in a unified architectural entity. ^[3]

The magazine GatewayRiga is available for visitors and passengers travelling through Riga airport. It has information on new airlines serving Riga, 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.

Riga International Airport is one of three notable airports in Latvia. The other two are the Liepāja International Airport and the Ventspils Airport. Riga International Airport's biggest air carrier is airBaltic. In 2008, the airport served 3,690,549 passengers, a 17% increase over 2007.

Increase of passengers served at the Riga International Airport (x 1000)

1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
310	398	504	506	535	555	562	574	623	633	712	1060	1878	2495	3161	3 691

Contents 1 Airlines and destinations 1.1 Scheduled airlines 1.2 Charter airlines 1.3 Cargo airlines 2 Ground transport 3 Technical information 4 Upcoming 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Scheduled airlines

The following airlines have scheduled services to Riga International Airport as of October 2009:

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo
airBaltic	Ålesund, Almaty, Amsterdam, Athens, Baku, Barcelona, Belgrade [begins 5 May], Bergen, Berlin-Tegel, Billund, Brussels, Chisinau, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Dushanbe, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Hurghada [winter season], Istanbul-Atatürk, Kaliningrad, Kaunas, Kiev-Boryspil, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, London-Gatwick, Madrid [begins 2 June], Milan-Malpensa, Minsk, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Nice, Odessa, Oslo-Gardermoen, Oulu, Palanga, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pskov, Rome-Fiumicino, Sharm el-Sheikh [seasonal], Simferopol, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Tartu, Tampere, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Tromsö, Turku, Venice-Marco Polo, Vaasa [begins 29 March], Vilnius, Vienna, Warsaw, Yerevan, Zürich
Belavia	Minsk [begins 19 January]
Czech Airlines	Prague
Finnair	Helsinki
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw
Lufthansa	Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Oslo-Gardermoen, Trondheim
Ryanair	Bremen, Bristol [begins 30 March], Brussels South-Charleroi, Dublin, East Midlands, Glasgow-Prestwick, Hahn, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Milan-Orio al Serio, Oslo-Rygge [begins 30 March], Stockholm-Skavsta, Tampere, Weeze
TAROM	Bucharest-Henri Coandă [begins 28 March]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk
Uzbekistan Airways	New York-JFK, Tashkent
Wizz Air	London-Luton [begins 30 March], Oslo-Torp [begins 30 March], Turku [begins 28 March]

[edit] Charter airlines

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

In addition, the following airlines also have charter operations as of July 2009:

Airlines	Destinations
airBaltic	Antalya, Heraklion, Hurghada, Rijeka - summer season
SmartLynx Airlines	Summer - Antalya, Athens, Burgas, Heraklion, Las Palmas, Luxembourg, Monastir, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Winter - Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh
Bulgaria Air	Varna
Japan Airlines	Tokyo

[edit] Cargo airlines

Airlines	Destinations
Transavibaltika
Sprintair
Inversija
RAF-Avia
UPS
DHL Express
TNT NV

[edit] Ground transport

• Bus
  • Bus route #22, operated by Rīgas Satiksme, run between Riga city centre and the airport. Buses depart every 10 - 15 minutes.
  • airBaltic in cooperation with Reval Hotel Latvia offers a shuttle bus service – Airport Express. The bus operates between the Riga airport and the Reval Hotel Latvia, (in the city centre).
  • There are international bus connections from the airport to cities in Estonia and Lithuania. Additional information on bus routes and schedules may be found at the airport information centre.
  • The traffic in between the resort city Jūrmala and Riga airport is supported by the yellow buses called Jūrmala Shuttle Buses that depart from Konkordijas street in Jūrmala^[4].
• Parking
  • The airport has also 3 car parks, with ~1500 parking spaces, offering short- and long-term parking.
• Taxi
  • Three main taxi companies may operate from Riga Airport. Journey time by taxi to the city centre is about 15 minutes.
• Motorway
  • The airport and European route E22 are connected by highway P133.

[edit] Technical information

• Located 255°, 5.4 NM from Riga. Elevation is 11 meters above sea level.

• Lighting
  • Approach lights : Length 900 meters, intensity LIH.
  • Threshold lights : Green
  • Runway edge limits : Length is 3200 meters, spacing 60 meters, colour is yellow and intensity - LIH.
  • Runway end lights : Red

• Time zone is +2 (subject of daylight saving time in summer). Airport is open 24 hours a day. Terminal space is 33 000 m². Available fuel are JET A-1, AVGAS 100LL. Tower frequency is 118.1, ATIS frequency is 121.2 . Runway's length is 3200 meters and it's 45 meters wide.

[edit] Upcoming

In March 2008, Riga Airport started a runway extension and lighting system reconstruction project. The main runway will be extended 650 meters for a total length of 3200 meters. Starting 13 March, the approach lights will be abbreviated to 400 meters from the runway's end. However, this will not affect the security of landing.

Work on the extension of the runway was completed by October 30, 2008. With the completion of this project, the airport has the capacity to serve international flights and is able to accommodate big aircraft including Airbus A340, Boeing 747's, 757's, 767's and 777's.

In September 2007, Riga Airport announced the construction of a new taxiway, Delta, with work on another taxiway, Alpha finished shortly. There are already finished roads to the new course antenna.

[edit] See also

• List of largest airports in the Baltic states
• List of airports in Latvia
• Transportation in Latvia
• Rīgas Satiksme (Riga Public Transport)
• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Riga International Airport

• Riga International Airport
  • Magazine GatewayRiga
• RIX Marks the Spot for Expansion
  • Riga International Airport Schedule
• Current weather for EVRA at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for RIX at Aviation Safety Network