Closure of Tel Aviv and Dubai routes can reduce number of passengers at Riga Airport by 2-3% - Odina

RIGA - If routes from Riga to Tel Aviv and Dubai remain closed until the end of the year, the number of passengers at Riga Airport could decrease by 2 to 3 percent.

She estimated that this could be around 100,000 passengers who would have used these two routes this year.

"This is also a strategic blow because a very large number of direct transfer passengers are being lost. If we want to be a transfer hub, we have to have these passengers," Odina stressed.

Commenting on how to mitigate the consequences of the Middle East conflict for Riga Airport, Odina said that it will be necessary to see how the summer season unfolds, and it looks positive, as forecasts show that, for example, Latvian national airline airBaltic will increase the number of flights in the summer season by 14 percent, and other carriers will do the same.

However, she added that it is necessary to understand all the risks involved, as currently the direct impact is expected from these two routes, but it is not known whether other routes close to the conflict-affected region will also be closed.

Odina added that almost 40 percent of the aviation fuel entering the European aviation market is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, so its price is rising sharply and its availability may be in jeopardy in a few months if the situation remains unchanged. "We will wait to see how the situation unfolds and hopefully we will not end up in a negative situation where aviation fuel is difficult to access," she said.

As LETA reported, due to the security situation in the Middle East, airBaltic has canceled all flights to and from Dubai until October 24 this year, while flights to Tel Aviv are canceled until April 29.

It is also reported that Riga Airport handled a total of 878,000 passengers in the first two months of this year, which is 2 percent less than in the same period last year.

Riga Airport handled 7.111 million passengers last year, which is on a par with 2024. Compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, the number of passengers handled at Riga Airport last year remained 9 percent lower.

Last year, the airport handled a total of 63,155 flights, which is also on a par with 2024, while the volume of air cargo handled at the airport increased by 7 percent to 20,147 tons.

Riga Airport is the largest air traffic hub in the Baltic states.