Riga Airport Welcomes Ryanair’s 11 000 000th Passenger
On Thursday, 15 February, Riga International Airport welcomed the 11 000 000th passenger carried by the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair since launching its service from Riga Airport in 2004. On Thursday, the lucky passenger Gatis Krēsliņš went on a holiday trip to Milan, Italy.
To mark the occasion, Riga Airport and Ryanair had prepared a special surprise for all passengers of the flight - an Italian-style party with singer Roberto, while Easy Wine restaurant had made some delicious pizzas. Ryanair also announced a ticket sale offering tickets for flights in April and May starting at EUR 19.99. The sale will be open until 28 February.
Ryanair presented its 11 000 000th passenger with flight tickets for two persons to one of the 16 destinations operated by the airline from Riga International Airport. Airport partners TAV LATVIA and ATU Duty Free greeted the passenger with a gift basket and a special selection of goods and products of Latvian manufacturers, while the Airport presented its souvenir set.
Chris Lundshøj, Ryanair Sales and Marketing Executive for Nordics and Baltics: "We are pleased to celebrate carrying 11 million customers to/from Riga since our first flight took off in 2004. This milestone highlights our commitment to supporting Latvia’s tourism industry and we look forward to continuing to grow traffic in Riga.”
Ilona Līce, Chairperson of the Board of Riga International Airport: “The entry of Ryanair in 2004 was an event of major importance for Riga Airport that provided and continues to provide our passengers with extensive travel opportunities. I am happy that Ryanair continues to expand its service from Riga offering travellers new and exciting destinations.”
Ryanair launched its service to Riga Airport on 31 October 2004. Tampere (Finland) was the airline’s first destination from Riga.
Today Ryanair is the second largest carrier operating at Riga Airport in terms of passenger numbers, and it will offer flights to 16 destinations this summer's season. At the end of March, Ryanair will launch its service to three new holiday destinations: Girona in Spain, Paphos in Cyprus and Burgas in Bulgaria.
Riga International Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltics. The 20 airlines operating at Riga Airport offer more than 70 destinations in the winter season and almost 90 in the summer season. In 2017, Riga Airport handled over 6 million passengers - 45% of the entire Baltic air passenger traffic.