Granting of the status of an official ACI Training Centre is the highest professional appraisal, acknowledging the qualifications of Riga Airport Training Centre and its ability to host high-quality international training. In the strictly regulated and constantly developing aviation sector, organisation of such top-level training is not only a matter of prestige, but also a great responsibility

The aviation industry is among those sectors, which year by year make Latvia more visible on the world map. It plays a major role in economic development in today's global economy. Since the restoration of the country's independence, we have reached the threshold of 60 million passengers, which demonstrates that we have taken ambitious steps towards growth of the Airport. Consequently, I can safely assure you that today we can single out and appreciate the Airport as one of the success stories of Latvia to be proud of

Every hour, Riga International Airport serves more than 600 passengers - an average of 18 000 passengers a day, almost half a million passengers a month. Latest data show that this year already 1.4 million passengers have used Riga Airport for their travel, which is 5% more than last year. The Airport is developing steadily and purposefully. What is important is that not only our passenger figures are increasing; also the route network is expending and connectivity improving, and consequently also the number of such passengers is increasing who use Riga Airport as an air traffic hub to travel to more distant destinations in Asia, Europe and Scandinavia

airBaltic will accelerate the passenger growth at Rīga airport even further – we are adding 12 new routes this summer and +15% more tickets on sale. Our customers in Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East will mainly see this as more cheap tickets available for their travel to exciting new destinations for leisure and business

Riga Airport is the leader in the Baltic Region both in terms of passenger traffic and the range of destinations and connectivity. Travellers from Riga can easily reach any place of the world: both with the direct long-haul flights to New York (USA), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Reykjavik (Iceland) and Tel Aviv (Israel); or by travelling to major European air traffic hubs in the UK, Germany or Scandinavia. It is wonderful that the national airline airBaltic and other carriers have so many new things to offer, including some truly exciting destinations such as Geneva, Madrid, Odessa, Kazan, Bari, Reykjavik and others, which will undoubtedly help the Airport to attract new travellers.

Riga Airport is currently the undisputed leader in the Baltic Region, offering the widest network of destinations and handling more than 5 million passengers per year; however, we should not rest on our laurels. Intercontinental flights will facilitate further development of Riga Airport, attract new passengers and give us a competitive advantage in the Baltic Region

These improvements aim to improve passenger comfort before the ambitious Airport terminal expansion project is implemented. The project foresees expansion of the passenger check-in hall, baggage claim and sorting areas, as well as construction of a multi-level car park

The Airport is currently working on a Cohesion Fund project, which will allow for environmentally-friendly infrastructure improvements, reducing emissions and environmental pollution

Ilona Līce has gained extensive experience and professionalism during the more than six years that she has been working in the Airport's Board. These years have ensured the company stable and confident growth. Riga Airport has strengthened its leading position in the Baltics, and Ilona Līce has proven herself as a competent manager with a clear vision for both short-term and long-term development

Growth figures show that the targeted business strategy of Riga Airport has brought good results. Airport's last year's extensive investment in the modernisation of the aerodrome infrastructure, expanding the passenger terminal and offering new services and facilities for passengers, has raised the Airport's competitiveness and created a favourable business environment for airlines, also for the development of the strategically important long-distance flights. The task for the coming years is to develop the infrastructure for promoting growth of passenger and cargo traffic, to make Riga Airport the leader not only in the Baltic countries, but in the entire Baltic Sea Region

Closing the year with a new passenger traffic record, Riga International Airport has once again proven itself as the undisputed leader in the Baltic region. The recent ambitious investments in the Airport infrastructure, upgrading the airfield and improving passenger service facilities, have made Riga even more attractive to both airlines and travellers. Airport development is closely linked to the growth of the national airline airBaltic, which this year carried more than half of the passengers of Riga Airport.

A new passenger traffic record - 5 390 000 passengers, once again proves the sound growth of Riga Airport, and we are very grateful to our passengers who choose our Airport for their journeys, as well as to the airlines that provide an extensive aviation traffic offer from Riga. Forecasting future increase in passenger numbers, the Airport is already planning the next steps for further improvement of the passenger terminal, expanding the check-in hall, the baggage claim and sorting areas, security control area, as well as constructing of a multi-storey car park and connection to the newly built "Rail Baltica" Riga Airport station. Our goal is to create an airport that would meet the needs of our passengers and be a place to return to again and again!

airBaltic fleet expansion with new, larger aircraft means that in 2017 we will be able to offer 16% more tickets, since the number of seats to be sold will increase. airBaltic will fly more often to European airports, while in the most popular routes such as Copenhagen-Riga we will use a larger jet aircraft which will replace the turboprop plane. Thus, we expect that the improved airBaltic service next year will allow us to increase the number of customers