Riga Airport Operations Resume After Lighting Problem Closes Runway

The initial downtime has caused ongoing delays.

Riga International Airport's services were temporarily suspended this morning due to technical issues. However, the Latvian capital airport's runway has reopened following the initial disruption.

Technical issues

Earlier today, Riga Airport shared that there were "technical malfunctions of the runway lighting system." The facility requested affected passengers to follow airport information and contact their airline amid these problems.

Subsequently, airport technicians rushed to restore the runway light system as departures and arrivals began seeing delays. Despite the runway now being up and running, the downtime meant that passengers would continue seeing delays in their journeys.

Due to technical malfunctions of the runway lighting system, the operation of the runway at Riga Airport has been suspended until 11:00 a.m. We apologize for the inconvenience and urge passengers to follow the information and to contact their airline. pic.twitter.com/58Vbv2aI84 — Riga Airport (@riga_airport) October 10, 2022

Flightradar24.com highlights that most arrivals have been delayed, including airBaltic's BT648 from Pisa and BT494 from Split. The departure schedule has largely normalized this afternoon, but there are some delays, including Heston Airlines' HN9001 to Chateauroux and Ryanair's FR328 to Warsaw.

Read more: With an international tender for investors Riga Airport launches the most significant development project of the decade – RIX Airport City

Plenty of activity

Speaking of Riga, one of the hub's primary operators, airBaltic, today shared how it carried 45% more passengers last month than in the same period in 2021. During the whole of September 2022, the carrier served 338,000 passengers, an increase from 232,900 in September 2021.

airBaltic president and CEO Martin Gauss shared that even though the average number of passengers carried in the fall usually drops, this year, his airline has seen positive patterns, confirming the increase in demand for flights.

A word from the airline

Gauss said the following in a statement:

“Currently, we are living in a favorable situation, where the presence of the pandemic does not limit the possibilities to travel. Thus, airBaltic is ready for the upcoming winter season with an attractive list of leisure destinations by offering both sunny beaches and snowy mountains. At the same time, the core goal remains the same – we continue to strengthen our position in the Baltic market.”

In total, airBaltic performed 3,420 flights last month, smashing September 2021's number of 2,980. The airline will be keen for Riga's runway to keep running without any issues going forward as it expects to remain busy heading into 2023.

Notably, after the announcement of flying over 50 million passengers since its inception, the airline revealed 18 new routes for next summer. Riga will be working with Tallinn and Vilnius to expand airBaltic's presence to nearly 70 destinations across its network.