Number of passengers handled at Riga Airport approaches 4 million
In the first nine months of this year, Riga Airport has handled 3.94 million passengers, which is almost three times more than in the same period last year, shows the operational data on the Airport's performance in the first nine months of the year.
In September, the number of passengers handled at Riga Airport exceeded 534 thousand representing 60 % increase compared to September last year, when the number of passengers handled reached 334 thousand. The most popular routes from Riga in September continued to be various leisure destinations in Southern Europe, while the average flight occupancy rate was almost 80 %.
The number of passengers using the Riga Airport as a transfer point for further flights is also stabilising: in September, almost one fifth or 101 thousand passengers, used Riga Airport as a transit airport. In the first nine months of the year, transit passengers accounted for 19 % of all passengers handled at Riga Airport.
Compared to September last year, the number of all flights operated at the airport has also increased by 9 % (in 2021 – 4585; in 2022 – 5009), while the passenger segment showed increase by up to one fifth (in 2021 – 3754; in 2022 – 4539).
The number of flights operated in January-September increased by 62 % compared to last year, from 25.2 thousand flights last year to 40.8 thousand flights this year. Whereas the number of passenger flights in the first nine months of this year has more than doubled compared to last year – from 17.3 thousand passenger flights last year to
35.7 thousand in the first nine months of this year.
In September, 155 air cargo flights were operated, handling almost 1,600 tonnes of cargo per month, bringing the total volume of air cargo handled in the first nine months of the year to 15,680 tonnes.