The Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair will reduce its flight schedule from Riga by 20% this winter season — that is, by 160,000 passenger seats — and cancel seven destinations, Ryanair's commercial director Jason McGuinness announced at a press conference on Thursday, LETA reports.
In particular, during the winter season, flights from Riga to Aarhus (Denmark), Edinburgh (United Kingdom), Gdansk (Poland), Gothenburg (Sweden), Paris Beauvais Airport (France), Memmingen (Germany), as well as flights to Berlin (Germany) will not be resumed.
McGuinness explained that the winter schedule is being reduced due to rising airport fees, which makes Riga less competitive, as passenger traffic remains below pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels.
He also reported that on Thursday, the Ryanair team met with the Latvian Ministry of Transport and presented a plan to double passenger traffic, which would ensure additional investments of $200 million and the opening of 14 new routes over the next five years.
"However, this growth is only possible if Riga Airport and the Latvian government reduce airport fees," he added.
McGuinness emphasized that these cuts are a direct consequence of rising costs at Riga Airport, as they have increased by 15% since Ryanair established its base in 2021.
Riga Airport's capacity will increase
Representatives of Riga Airport informed the LETA agency that this summer, Ryanair notified Riga Airport about the reduction in the number of destinations for the upcoming winter season. However, overall, during this winter navigation, Riga Airport's capacity will increase by approximately 3–4% compared to last winter.
The airport emphasizes that despite inflation and significant increases in direct costs, the rates approved back in 2011 continued to apply at Riga Airport until spring 2024. The impact of the new rates approved last year is less than one euro per passenger — within 8–10%. The remaining part of the cost increase indicated by Ryanair consists of expenses unrelated to the airport's own operations.
Simultaneously with the changes in rates, a new discount policy was introduced from spring 2024, providing benefits for airlines that contribute to the airport's development — opening new routes or increasing passenger transport volumes.
The airport explained that in the aviation industry, the winter flight season traditionally begins at the end of October, and in the Baltic region, this is a period of declining air passenger numbers. Therefore, airlines annually review their route networks depending on the season, focusing on destinations with expected high demand and abandoning less profitable routes.
The growth in passenger numbers in the Baltic region is also hindered by the geopolitical situation and high inflation, which reduces travelers' purchasing power. In this regard, Riga Airport has revised its investment plans, decided to freeze rates indefinitely, and developed a new discount policy, which will be presented next week to the Airport Users Committee, which includes all airlines operating at the airport.
The new discount policy is expected to come into effect in the summer season of 2026. Its goal is to support airlines' decisions to open new routes from Riga, attract new carriers, and increase the number of passengers transported.
The airport clarified that airport fees consist of several elements covering the costs of maintaining and developing infrastructure, as well as ensuring the functioning of civil aviation. From these fees, the airport finances the maintenance of runways, terminals, security infrastructure, and passenger services, as well as pays for qualified personnel and compliance with industry standards.
However, revenues from aviation fees are generally insufficient to fully cover operational costs, so part of the non-aviation revenues is often directed to ensure aviation services.
The airport also added that 20% of the total airport fees are set by a Cabinet of Ministers decree. Before the rates are approved by the government, they are developed according to the methodology adopted in the industry and coordinated with the Airport Users Committee, which includes all airlines operating there.
Reductions in Estonia and Lithuania as well
Earlier, LETA reported that during the winter season, Ryanair would also reduce the number of flights in other countries, including Estonia and Lithuania.
Previously, Ryanair announced that it does not plan to resume winter flights on five routes from Tallinn that were closed in February due to increased airport fees.
"Our winter schedule will be 40% smaller, as Tallinn Airport raised fees by 70%," McGuinness stated at a press conference in Tallinn.
These routes include destinations to Bergamo, Treviso, and Rome (Italy), as well as Paphos (Cyprus) and Vienna (Austria).
The commercial director of Tallinn Airport, Eero Pärgmäe, expressed confusion regarding Ryanair's claims about a 70% increase in fees in an interview with the Estonian Public Broadcasting ERR.
"This is completely untrue. One should ask what their calculations are based on," Pärgmäe stated.
According to him, the airport did not report any fee increases this year; on the contrary, it recently confirmed that no fee increases are planned for the end of 2025, nor in 2026 or 2027.
Ryanair was founded in 1984. According to information on the airline's website, its fleet consists of more than 600 aircraft, operating flights in 37 countries.
