The trouble with Ryanair
Since the beginning of this year the Riga International Airport started to collect a security charge (formerly covered by the state) from all passangers departing from Riga. No charge applied for transit passangers and kids under age 2. Normally, airlines would include this charge in their flight ticket costs. There is even a tiny incentive to do so – if the airline includes the charge in their ticket price it is EUR 6.50, if it is paid at the airport it rises to EUR 7.00
Ryanair has refused to apply this charge. Therefore Ryanair’s passengers have to go through all the hassle of paying the security charge before their flights at the Riga airport. To passengers unaware in advance that this is necessary, it can feel like a rip-off.
Apart of that, the airline is cancelling 42 routes.
Riga airport’ s disasters with Ryanair do not finish there, however. Just a few days ago the Latvian Competition Council considered a complaintby AirBaltic and fined the airport LVL 50 000 for discriminatory pricing policies . The reason is Ryanair: Riga International Airport has applied more favourable charges to the Irish airline than to everone else.
For example, national airline AirBaltic has paid a remarkable 82% more for services at Riga airport than Ryanair. The Competition Council has ordered the airport to equalise the service charges and make them public and understandable for all possible interested parties. This means that the airport will have to cancel Ryanair’s favourable contract and put the price up for them. Ryanair, of course, says it can easily send its planes elsewhere.
It is a serious threat and Riga could lose thousands of tourists which benefit the wider economy. But on the other hand, if Ryanair’s powerful lobbying (you have to be impressed by their ability to negotiate such favourable deals) stopped other airlines operating their own Riga routes and meant Riga airport made practically nothing from Ryanair’s presence, then probably something had to change.
Perhaps one solution would be for Latvia to develop a regional airport for low cost airlines, as Lithuania has done succesfully with Kaunas.
There have been discussions about Liepaja airport in the past, and more recently speculation has centred on Tukums airport due to its proximity to Riga.
My personal opinion is that Daugavpils airport should be developed, despite all the problems related with its ownership and its distance from Riga. Geographically it could serve not only the Latvian market but also populations in Russia, Belarus and northern Lithuania. The economy of the Latgale region would thrive, though infrastructure including transport links would need to be developed in tandem with the airport. As one of the poorest regions in the European Union, Latgale could certainly do with such a boost.
Eva Staltmane
Baltic Tourism Marketing Services 
Eva,
You raise many interesting issues here. It would be great if Daugavpils could serve Belarus too, but so few people from there get visas for the Schengen area or for Britain, that I doubt it can be seen as a serious market. Daugavpils certainly needs a civil airport and should be able to operate on connecting flights to Riga, perhaps to Vilnius and Tallinn as well. If enough of its population have access to Russia, perhaps a flight to St Petersburg would be viable too.
Tukums is really the answer for Riga’s second airport, given it is about the same distance as Kaunas is from Vilnius. The real money is made from ancillary services well sold at the airport. Passengers check in early enough to have time for coffees and the “duty-free” shops. AIrside caterers are now shrewdly selling sandwiches and drinks at much lower prices than those charged on Ryanair flights. There is great scope for transfers, car-hire, airport hotels and then for the towns nearby.
I hope Riga defines “transit” fairly generously if it wants to encourage Air Baltic passengers to stay a night or two in Riga en route elsewhere. With the wild airport taxes now payable in Britain, for travellers to the Caucasus and Central Asia, it is cheaper to overnight in Riga than to pay the tax applicable on direct flights. The successful airports in Western Europe are those that abolish taxes rather than levy them. Successful marketing of ancillary services is the key for an airport operation, not additional taxes.
Neil Taylor
Transit is certainly AirBaltic’s politics at the Riga’ s airport. However what’s going to happen with AirBaltic itself is still a big question.
Tukums, of course, could be second Riga’ s airport but its hearbreaking to see what’s happening with Latgale region. Therefore I hope for some push in Daugavpils which could be beneficial for whole region.
All the opinions are really interesting, but, I honestly think that the best chance is to develop Tukums airport, is near, and in good connection with all the big Latvian towns: Riga, Liepaja, Daugavpils, Cesis If we take out of the distance equation Riga, The road connections are really bad for any traveller, just consider the distance between Daugavpils and Cesis, or Daugavpils to Liepaja, and considering the tourist, and honestly speaking, 90% of the foreign passengers head to visit Riga.
Once again, I think that Tukums could be the solution, even if I prefer Liepaja, but the distance problem could be the same.