Most active travelers are familiar with the international airport code RIX, which denotes the Riga air terminal. It is the main base of the Latvian airline AirB altic, which began operations in 1995. Not least thanks to this airline, the international airport in Riga has become one of the most important interchange hubs in the B altic. It is also interesting that today the aviation museum operates at the airport, where you can get acquainted with historical models of aircraft that have ever landed in the air harbor.
History of the airport
The predecessor of the modern Riga airport was the Spilve airfield, built at the very beginning of the First World War. However, by the end of the sixties, it became obvious that it was outdated, despite numerous modernizations, which meant that there was a need to build a new terminal that could meet the safety requirements of the new era of mass air travel.
The new Riga Airport (RIX) opened in 1973 inclose proximity to the village of Skulte. Already in Soviet times, the airport was the largest among others in the B altic Soviet republics. However, in the mid-nineties, after Latvia gained independence, there was a need to modernize it.
Post independence
The plan for the total reconstruction of the airport was approved in the mid-1990s, but the modernization was completed only in 2001. At the same time, the construction of the southern terminal was completed, which made it possible to increase the number of daily flights and, consequently, the number of airlines flying through Riga Airport (RIX).
It is worth noting that the modernization was a success, and in 2005, the International Airport Council recognized the Riga air harbor as the best in Europe among air terminals, with a passenger flow of one to five million people.
Airport reconstruction
International recognition stimulated the Riga Airport Authority (RIX) to make efforts to develop the airfield infrastructure, and in 2008 the runway was lengthened, which allowed to increase the range of accepted aircraft. It is noteworthy that the modernization cost the investor almost 24 million euros.
A year after the completion of another reconstruction, the airport was included in the international ranking of the hundred best airports in the world, although it was only ninety-eighth. New technical characteristics of the runway of Riga International Airport allowed to increase the number of passengers every yearby 10% since 2010.
Destinations and companies
The airport code - RIX - was assigned to it by the International Air Transport Association, headquartered in Montreal, Canada. This organization coordinates efforts in the field of international flight safety and logistics.
The airport is a hub for such major airlines as AirB altic, WizzAir and SmartLynx Airlines, which allows it to have an extremely wide geography of flights, connecting cities from Reykjavik to Sharm el-Sheikh.
A total of seventeen airlines operate flights to Riga airport. This set of carriers allows passengers to choose the level of service, airfare prices and a variety of vacation destinations.
Ryanair's participation in transportation allows you to get at the lowest prices to almost all important cities in Europe and Morocco, as this company is the largest low-cost carrier in the European Union.
Riga - Moscow. Weekend trip
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Riga airport for Russians. Firstly, a large number of Russians have a residence permit in this B altic country. Secondly, Riga is an important international hub and with a short transfer at the Riga airport, you can get to any European capital. Third, Riga has become a popular weekend getaway destination over the past decade.
The schedule also confirms the extreme popularity of Latvia among Russiansflights from Moscow airports on the route Riga - Moscow. In total, the number of daily direct flights reaches thirty on normal days. During the high season and holidays, the number of flights increases.
In addition to the Latvian airline AirB altic, two Russian air carriers fly to Riga airport. UTair Airlines flies from Moscow Vnukovo Airport, and Aeroflot from Sheremetyevo Airport. Such a number of flights and the popularity of the destination itself have made the international airport code RIX one of the most recognizable aviation brands in the post-Soviet space.
