SAS starts flights from Riga to Copenhagen
With the new summer flight schedule, Scandinavian Air System (SAS) as of 26 March has launched flights to Copenhagen, the Capital of Denmark.
SAS Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft with 88 seats will go to Copenhagen 12 times a week - twice daily midweek and one per day on weekends.
"For years, Scandinavia has been one of the main business partners of Latvia. This has contributed to the increase in the number of business trips between the two countries. Therefore, as the Latvian economy is showing signs of recovery, SAS has made a strategic decision to launch direct flights between Riga and Copenhagen," says Rūta Juciene, SAS Country Manager for Baltic States and Russia.
"Riga International Airport is happy that our partner SAS has not only returned to Riga, but also continues to expand its route network. Copenhagen - Riga route offers new opportunities for business travellers not only for direct flights to and from Riga, but also connectivity with other destinations around the world," says Ilona Līce, Chairman of the Board of Riga International Airport.
To celebrate the first flight, Riga International Airport welcomed the airline with the traditional cake of the new destination, which was made as a fairy tale book "The Little Mermaid" by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid is the symbol of Copenhagen. The statue of the Little Mermaid at the Langelinie Quay in Copenhagen, created by Edvard Eriksen is among the most popular tourist attractions already since 1913.
As reported before, the summer flight season started on Sunday, 26 March, and this year 89 destinations will be available to passengers travelling from Riga Airport. In addition to the existing routes, airlines will offer 16 new destinations for both business travel and leisure purposes.
Altogether 17 carriers will operate flights from Riga Airport in the summer season: airBaltic, Ryanair, WizzAir, Aeroflot, SAS, Finnair, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Utair, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, RusLine, Uzbekistan Airways, Belavia, Ellinair and Smartlynx Airlines.
From the beginning of the year to 20 March, Riga International Airport handled 979 739 passengers, which is 3.3% more than in the corresponding period of 2016. In this year's first two months, the transit and transfer passenger traffic grew by 14.2%, amounting to 26% of the total number of passengers. London, Moscow and Frankfurt were the most popular destinations in January and February.
Riga International Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltics. The 20 airlines operating at Riga Airport offer more than 60 destinations in the winter season and more than 80 in the summer season. In 2016, Riga Airport handled over 5.6 million passengers - nearly 45% of the entire Baltic air passenger traffic.