Airport, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Transport

"Everything's much closer to Riga - 74 direct flights, 42 of which are not possible from Tallinn, which only offers 26 direct flights in the winter season. The possibility to get to whatever destination faster and with less trouble is important," the CEO of Riga International Airport, Ilona Lice, said.

"We are competing for passengers with the airports of Tallinn and Lithuania. At the same time, we see an opportunity for rational cooperation in this along with possibilities to develop services to destinations which are not available at the other airports or the availability of which is limited," Lice said.

She added that this is particularly important five to seven years from now when the three Baltic countries will be connected by a high-speed railway.

During the first 11 months of 2017, Riga International Airport served 5.6 million passengers and 68,800 flights, respectively 12.5% and 9.5% more than the year before. Transit passengers make up 29% of the passengers of the airport.

Riga International Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltic states. The airport offers flights to more than 60 destinations in the winter season and to nearly 90 destinations in summer, operated by 20 airlines. In 2016, the airport handled 5.4 million passengers, nearly 45% of the total number of passengers going through Baltic airports.