Airport, Latvia, Transport

The airport also handled 825 tons of cargo in January, a rise of 34.7% on the first month of the previous year, when the figure was 613 tons, reports LETA.

Chairman of the Board of Riga International Airport Krisjanis Peters, commenting on January's figures for Riga airport and on European tendencies in the industry as a whole, explained that the first month of the year was a great success. The significant rise in passenger flow is comparable to the period before the European and world air transport industries fell into recession.

"Although the last two months have seen a stabilization in the air industry and the dramatic drop in passenger numbers has ceased, there are still many airports, including those in the Nordic region, which are still showing a downturn in comparison with January 2009. There is reason to think that the majority of European airports will be able to show signs of stabilization in the year's second quarter, at least in comparison to last year's significant decline, and will start to regain the level of passenger flow which was lost in the downturn of the last year and a half," explains Peters.

"Due to the harsh winter, January was a complicated and challenging month for many European airports" says Peters.

Riga International Airport is the largest air transport hub in the Baltic States. Aircraft from Riga airport fly direct to 69 destinations, with 61 destinations being served in the 2009/2010 winter period by 13 air companies.