Riga International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Riga International Airport
nativename = Rīgas Starptautiskā Lidosta


image-width = 181
IATA = RIX
ICAO = EVRA
type = Public
owner = Republic of Latvia
(Joint stock company)
operator =
city-served =
location = Riga, Latvia
elevation-f = 34
elevation-m = 10
coordinates = coord|56|55|25|N|023|58|16|E|region:LV_type:airport
website = [http://www.riga-airport.com www.riga-airport.com]
metric-rwy = y
r1-number = 18/36
r1-length-m = 2,550
r1-length-f = 8,366
r1-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Number of Passengers
stat1-data = 3,160,954
footnotes = Source (excluding statistics): DAFIFWAD|EVRA|source=DAFIF] GCM|RIX|source=DAFIF]

Riga International Airport airport codes|RIX|EVRA was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve, which had become outdated. It is 13km southwest 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, LatCharter, 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. [ [http://www.riga-airport.com/media/image/plansNEWen.jpgRiga Airport Plan] ] 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 has begun 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, seemlessly joining the current airport terminals with the new terminal in a unified architectural entity. [ [http://www.db.lv/Default2.aspx?ArticleID=fe4a88d0-2de7-486d-bbc0-755182645941 Riga Airport Expansion Construction Bid Solicitation] ]

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 2007, the airport served 3,160,954 passengers, a 27% increase over 2006.

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.

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled airlines

The following airlines have scheduled services to Riga International Airport as of October 2008:
*Aer Lingus (Dublin) [ends 31st October, 2008]
*Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
*airBaltic (Ålesund, Almaty, Amsterdam [starts 26th October, 2008] , Athens [sesonal] , Baku, Barcelona, Bergen, Berlin-Tegel, Billund, Brussels, Chisinau, Copenhagen, Dubai [starts 24th October, 2008] , Dublin, Düsseldorf, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Hannover [starts 15th December, 2008] , Helsinki, Hurghada [starts 25th October, 2008] , Istanbul-Atatürk, Kaliningrad, Kiev-Boryspil, Kuopio, London-Gatwick, Milan-Malpensa, Minsk, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Nice, Odesa, Oslo, Oulu, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, Sharm El Sheikh [starts 26th October, 2008] , Simferopol [sesonal] , Sochi, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, St.Petersburg, Tallinn, Tampere, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Venice, Vilnius, Vienna, Yerevan, Zürich)
**operated by DOT LT (Helsinki [ends 24 October 2008] , Vilnius [ends 25 October 2008] )
**operated by Air Iceland
*Austrian Airlines
**operated by Tyrolean Airways (Vienna) [ends 24 October 2008]
*Czech Airlines (Prague)
*easyJet (Berlin-Schönefeld) [ends 2nd November, 2008]
*Finnair (Helsinki)
*FlyLAL (Vilnius [ends 25 October 2008] )
*Germanwings (Cologne/Bonn) [ends 24th October, 2008]
*KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
**operated by KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
*LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
*Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
*Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo, Trondheim)
*Ryanair (Bremen, Bristol, Brussels-Charleroi [starts 27 October, 2008] , Dublin, Düsseldorf-Weeze [starts 27 October, 2008] , East Midlands, Frankfurt-Hahn, Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Milan-Bergamo, Stockholm-Skavsta, Tampere)
*S7 Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo) [starts 1 May, 2009]
*Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
*Uzbekistan Airways (New York-JFK, Tashkent)

Charter airlines

In addition, the following airlines also have charter operations (September 2008):
* airBaltic (Antalya, Bodrum, Burgas, Dalaman/Mugla)-summer season
* SmartLynx Airlines (Antalya, Burgas, Catania, Corfu (I.Kapodistrias), Heraklion, Las Palmas, Larnaca, Monastir, Rhodes, Rijeka, Thessaloniki, Varna)-summer season (Dubai, Hurgada, Palma-de-Mallorca, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Tenerife)-Winter season
* FlyLal (Hurgada, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Tenerife)-winter season
* Vip Avia

Cargo Airlines

*Avion Express
*Inversija
*RAF-Avia
*UPS
*DHL

Ground transports

* Bus
** Bus routes #22 and #22A (express), operated by Rīgas Satiksme, run between Riga city centre and the airport. Buses depart 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 have large luggage. The airport unloading point is in front of the second terminal. To get on the bus at the airport, look for the bus stop located across the street from the terminal, behind the car park. There is a bus stop for route 22a between the 1st and 2nd arrival halls exits.
** 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,) every day from 5:00AM till 12:00AM (midnight). Buses are scheduled every 30 minutes. Tickets may be purchased from the bus driver or at the airBaltic, Berga Bazars (Elizabetes Iela 85a) or Reval Hotel Latvija (Elizabetes Iela 55) ticket offices. Ticket price: 3 LVL. Cash (Latvian lats only) or payment cards are accepted.
** 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.

* Taxi
** All taxi companies may operate in Riga Airport. Journey by taxi is about 15 minutes. Getting to the city centre will cost you about 8 LVL (15€), but it may vary in some taxis. Ask for the fare amount before traveling to avoid problems.

* Motorway
** The airport and European route E22 are connected by highway P133.
** The airport has 3 car parks, with ~1500 parking spaces.

Technical information

* Located 255°, 5.4 NM from Riga. Elevation is 34 meters above sea level.

* Lighting
** Approach lights : Length 900 meters, intensity LIH.
** Threshold lights : Green
** Runway edge limits : Length is 2550 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 2550 meters and it's 45 meters wide.

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 airport is planned to be completed by October 30, 2008. With the completion of this project, the airport will have the capacity to serve international flights and will be 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.

ee also

* List of airports in Latvia
* Transportation in Latvia

References

External links

* [http://www.riga-airport.com/ Riga International Airport]
** [http://www.riga-airport.com/?id=326/ Magazine GatewayRiga]
** [http://www.riga-airport.com/?id=1348/ Riga International Airport Schedule]
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