Due to several months of virtual idle-standing, Riga Airport saw passenger numbers fall 62.9 percent year on year to 1.3 million people in the first six months of 2020. The number of flights handled by the airport was down 54.8 percent to 18,796 in the said period.
According to the information released by the airport, its H1 net turnover contracted 46 percent from the first half of last year to 16.7 million euros, as aviation services brought in 8.7 million euros, which is a drop of 10.9 million euros year-on-year, and non-aviation services generated 3.5 million euros, down 30 percent year on year.
"In January and February, the airport's growth continued just as successfully as in 2019, as Riga remained one of the fastest-growing airports in Europe. When the airport's operations were virtually halted in March, the company quickly launched a well-planned cost saving program," said Riga Airport CEO Laila Odina, noting that as a result of the cost saving measures, the airport's operating expenditure was slashed by more than 25 percent, while the airport continued to handle repatriation, cargo and business flights.
The airport's CEO said that although the H1 performance results were better than predicted during the hardest phase of the COVID-19 crisis, given the changeable and uncertain situation in the aviation industry, risks to the airport's stability and competitiveness still remain.
As the Latvian aviation industry was hit by the COVID-19 crisis in the spring, the government approved 54.42-million-euro support to Riga Airport to keep the largest aviation hub in the Baltics operational. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
Latest comments