A total of 3.5 million passengers were serviced at Latvia’s international airports in the first half-year of 2019, up by 9.6% YoY, according to data compiled by the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA).
At the same time, the number of serviced flights has increased by 7.57%. While the number of serviced flights was 40,117 last year, this year their numbers have reached 43,155.
Liepaja International Airport demonstrated a more than 45% increase in the number of serviced passengers. In last year’s half-year period the airport serviced 4,205 passengers, whereas the number of serviced passengers this year has already reached 6,104. CAA explains the growth with airBaltic’s decision to increase the number of weekly flights to and from Liepaja from three to five.
The number of flights at Liepaja International Airport has increased 16-fold. Last year the airport serviced 100 flights. This year this number has already reached 1,605. The reason for the rapid increase of flights is Liepaja’s airBaltic Pilot School, which performs training flights from this airport.
Riga International Airport serviced 3.5 million passengers in the first half-year of 2019. 3.2 million passengers were serviced in the first half-year of 2018, which is a 9.56% increase.
At the same time, the airport has serviced 41,550 flights this year, when compared to 40,017 aircraft in 2018.
AirBaltic serviced 18% more passengers in this year’s half-year when compared to the same period of 2018. Data from CAA shows that the airline has carried 2.2 million passengers from Latvia’s international airports. Last year the number of passengers carried by airBaltic was 1.8 million. Also, while last year airBaltic performed 26,579 flights, this year the number of flights reached 29,733.
CAA explains the airline’s growth with the opening of new flights and new aircraft that have more seats.
The second largest Latvia-based aviation industry company SmartLynx Airlines serviced 78,964 passengers and performed 467 flights from Riga International Airport in the first half-year of 2019. When it comes to the number of passengers, this is an 8.13% increase when compared to the first half-year of 2018, when the airline serviced 73,026 passengers and performed 432 flights from Riga, CAA reports.
Aero navigation service provider Latvijas Gaisa Satiksme has serviced 6.5% more transit flights than last year. In the first six months of 2019, a total of 103,705 transit flights were serviced in Latvia’s air space (97,348 last year). Diversion of some of the flights to Germany’s and France’s northern parts has led to an increase of flights in Latvia’s air space, CAA explains.
The number of flights performed to and from Riga International Airport has increased by 4%, from 39,888 flights in the first six months of 2018 to 41,462 flights in the same period in 2019. (BNN/Business World Magazine)