Реферат: Riga international airport

Riga 2004

During the past century Latvian aviation, like the country itself,experienced a number of fateful turning points. The former province of Russia,which won independence after the 1st World War, established small air force andcivil aviation, but lost everything due to the Soviet occupation in the summerof 1940. Independence of the country was regained in August 1991.

Riga airport was built in the present location in October 1974.However, it remained unknown for the world operating as the local airportwithin the former USSR. Only in 1991 Riga destination appeared in thetimetables of well-known Western airlines — first SAS, then Lufthansa.

The capital of Latvia developed historically into the regionalcentre of the Baltic’s. It has been the intersection of major land and searoutes since long ago. Nowadays the number of air routes keeps increasing. Rigais the biggest city of the Baltic States. Riga airport has the largest numberof air passengers handled during the past 10 years.

The number of passengers has doubled since 1993. Copenhagen,Stockholm, London, Helsinki, Frankfurt, Moscow, Prague and Vienna routes havethe largest number of passengers. Furthermore, direct flights link the capitalof Latvia with Honk-Kong, Kiev, Tallinn, Tel Aviv, Vilnius and Warsaw.

During this period Riga airport has implemented several importantmodernization and expansion projects. The lounge for business class passengersand VIP centre was opened, and Flight Information Display System (FIDS) andCommon Use Terminal Equipment System (CUTE) has been installed.

However, chief of company consider that the airport development andmodernization should be at least a step ahead of passenger growth. He forecastthat by stable economic development of Latvia the airport passenger numberswill grow considerably in the new millennium. The former terminal was notspacious enough and could not provide full comfort for passengers. Thereforemajor reconstruction started on the eve of the new millennium by pulling downthe old one-level arrival area and by constructing a new two-level building 5times exceeding the size of the former one. The former departure area wasreconstructed next and a new pier with 5 passenger bridges was built instead.Altogether terminal was extended by more than 10 thousand square meters and 30million USD were invested in the implementation of the project.

The reconstruction permitted to expand considerably the duty-freetrade centre. Our duty-free shops offering souvenirs, perfumery, cosmetics,jeweller, watches, accessories, sweets, wines and spirits, tobacco goods,sportswear and toys are very popular. You can purchase both Latvian products aswell as goods offered by famous international producers. Every departingpassenger purchases goods for average value of 18 USD.

New bars and cafes have been opened.

Spacious shopping halls, bars and cafes fit well in the new airportinterior that includes the elements of glass, metal and natural materials, likewood, stone and others forming Riga airport image of today.

The main idea of the new design was to construct spacious, lightand, which is most important, transparent rooms for passengers to make one feelmore and safe.

Geometry of the new building facades differs from the one associatedwith Riga airport till now. The glazed rhombic prisms laid in various planesencircle the new constructions. The facades resemble crystalline ice compositionsarousing northern feelings. Harmony of grey and blue colours is dominant in theinterior.

A modern Building Management System (BMS), air conditioning system,electric facilities and security equipment have been installed in the newbuilding. Handling of persons with special needs has improved. Riga airport hassucceeded in solving the most complicated problem of any airport design anoptimum balance was reached among architectural, functional and commercialaspects.

Everything we have achieved has been done with the purpose of takingcare of our passengers' convenience, so that a person arriving in Riga has afriendly environment and receives services of the highest quality. The betterimpressions of the airport, the more comfortable passengers feel whiletravelling.

Services will be further improved by considering expectations of ourpassengers and guests, who have filled out questionnaires available at specialstands in the terminal. We look forward to receive comments on the recentlyintroduced airport tour programmed and art exhibitions at the airport.Passenger loyalty programmed providing discounts, presents and special servicefor regular passengers has been launched.

Providing passenger service quality and variety Riga InternationalAirport pays special attention to ground handling level. The airport provides afull range of the required services.

Providing passenger service quality and variety Riga internationalairport pays special attention to ground handling level. The airport provides afull range of the required services.

In 1994 Strabag International GmbH and Daimler Benz Aerospace AGcarried out the first airport reconstruction works involving runwayrehabilitation and the replacement of lighting system. Today along withterminal reconstruction taxiways and the central apron of 13 hectares have beenreconstructed.

The airport transport and emergency systems have also been graduallyimproved. Transport and equipment from the Soviet era has been replaced withnew Neoplan, Vanhool and Mercedes buses, Scmitz airport sweeper, Volkswagenservice cars and Sides fire-fighting vehicles.

The new passenger boarding bridges are equipped with modern aircrafttechnical service systems. The latest technologies ensure both heating andconditioning of the aircraft flight deck. Riga airport provides a completerange of ground handling services. The carrier Air Baltic also performsseparate operations.

An acknowledgement of compliance with high-quality requirements isISO 9001 Quality Certificate issued by the British Standards Instituteauditors.

Development of air traffic.

2002 was one of the hardest years ever for the aviation industry. 11September 2001 shocked the USA and caused a crisis in the world’s aviationbusiness after continuous and dynamic development of more than half a century.In all the developed countries of the world passenger figures collapsed and thedownward trend also continued in to 2002. Altogether, passenger figures droppedby around 5 million in Europe and by 35 million in North America compared with2001.

“Riga” airport was also affected by the consequences of the crisis.First, we expensed a substantial fall in traffic to the USA. In August 2001around 3.5 thousand passengers departed the USA from Riga, but in the monthsfollowing the terrorist attacks of 11 September passenger figures decreased bymore than 60% causing an important loss for the airport. Despite the downwardtrend, the report years were profitable. The important things are that we havenot lost passengers, as have other airports worldwide.

Month 2000 2001 2002 2002/2001(%) 1 1 291 1 340 1 299 -3.1 2 1 349 1 338 1 290 -3.6 3 1 516 1 545 1 572 1.7 4 1 443 1 493 1 699 13.8 5 1 744 1 728 1 680 -2.8 6 1 600 1 783 1 654 -7.2 7 1 464 1 622 1 694 4.4 8 1 650 1 839 1 747 -5.0 9 1 602 1 694 1 623 -4.2 10 1 645 1 682 1 653 -1.7 11 1 479 1 540 1 430 -7.1 12 1 287 1 306 1 335 2.2 Total: 18 070 18 910 18 676 -1.2

Table1. Aircraft movements

Passenger figures exceed 600 000, i.e. by 1.7% more than in 2001 forthe second consecutive year. Altogether, the airport handled 18 676flights falling behind the previous report year by 1.2% due to “AustrianAirlines”, “Estonian Air” and the Swedish airline “Trygg-Flyg” deceasingflights to Riga.

For the third year air cargo transportation has grown considerablywith turnover exceeding 6 000 tons for the first time, i.e. by 26.3% overthe previous year. Cargo transportation import (78.2%) still significantly exceedsexport (21.8%).

To achieve these results the airport staff had to be morepurposeful, determined and competent than in the previous report period.

12 carriers including “Air Baltic”, “Aeroflot”, “Austrian Airlines”,“Belavia”, “British Airways”, “ČSA”, “Estonian Air”, “Finnair”, “LatpassAirlines”, “LOT”, “Lufthansa” and “Trygg-Flyg” provided scheduled passengerflights from “Riga” airport in 2002.

Scheduled direct flights linked Riga with 16 European citiesincluding Berlin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Jonkoping, Kiev, Copenhagen, London,Moscow, Minsk, Prague, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Vilnius andVienna.

Month 2000 2001 2002 2002/2001(%) 1 302 346 502 45.1 2 323 371 473 27.5 3 400 449 559 24.5 4 346 421 561 33.3 5 359 485 379 -21.9 6 350 446 428 -4.0 7 346 429 354 -17.5 8 424 438 403 -8.0 9 430 395 546 38.2 10 507 451 685 51.9 11 386 529 573 8.3 12 485 449 1 117 148.8 Total 4 658 5 209 6 580 26.3

Table2. Cargo transportation (t)

Major passenger flows and routes ofscheduled flights.

In 2002 the flight map changed slightly with “Air Baltic” exploringnew destinations and starting flights to Berlin in May and later to Vienna.Additionally, “Air Baltic” resumed flights to Moscow, Warsaw and Prague, whichhad been suspended as unprofitable the previous years. Thus, the Latvianaviation market was considerably divided. “Air Baltic” improved its position,but “Austrian Airlines” discontinued flights from Vienna to Riga due to theimposed flight reduction. In comparison with the last year, the dynamics ofpassenger growth for the above destinations dropped considerably by 885 on theWarsaw route, 22.8% on the Vienna route and 17.3% on the Moscow route.

Month 2000 2001 2002 2002/2001(%) 1 35 235 38 681 38 377 -0.8 2 35 637 38 243 37 477 -2.0 3 45 454 46 510 45 393 -2.4 4 45 087 48 154 48 420 0.6 5 54 308 57 248 55 802 -2.5 6 56 017 68 036 63 980 -6.0 7 53 123 61 247 62 114 1.4 8 56 140 67 041 62 485 -6.8 9 55 810 60 879 63 294 4.0 10 51 645 51 872 61 270 18.1 11 44 804 43 924 49 357 12.4 12 41 096 40 812 45 353 11.1 Total 574 356 622 647 633 322 1.7

Table3. Passenger movements

In 2002 73 passengers out of every 100 handled in Riga (includingtransit) travelled to or from Western Europe. Altogether scheduled flights toWestern Europe were responsible for the growth of passengers figures (almost11 000). Berlin, with the highest passengers growth rate ranks first amongthe cities of Western Europe (it should be mentioned, however, that in 2001there were no scheduled flights on this route); followed by London with 6.9%and Frankfurt with 6.4%. However, there is an exception. For the first timepassengers figures on the Helsinki route have dropped by almost 3 000 or3.9% in comparison with the last year. Nevertheless, Helsinki ranks 2 nd on thelist of the most popular destinations. For the second successive year passengerfigures on the Stockholm route have dropped sharply by almost 14 000 or21%. Accordingly, a Stockholm rank 6th instead of the previous 3rd, but theCopenhagen has constantly been number one since 1996, despite a passengergrowth rate, which has slowed down on the route.

In 2002 passenger figures for Eastern and Central Europe have grownslightly. Some destinations have faced radical changes. As in previous years,passengers figures decreased by 17.3% on the Moscow route. For the second yearafter resuming scheduled flights on the Tallinn route passenger figures wentdown by 11.4%. Passengers figures on the Prague route increased significantlyby 27.7% for the second year. It should be underlined that the Prague route hasthe highest absolute growth rate, i.e. by 13 000 passengers more and evensurpasses the Copenhagen route. Accordingly, Prague shows a very convincinggrowth and ranks 3rd instead of being 6th in 2001 on the list of the mostpopular destinations. The success allowed “ČSA” to pull ahead of such majorairlines as “British Airways”, “Lufthansa” and “Finnair”. A couple of years agosuch a forecast would have seemed unbelievable. “ČSA” passengers figureshave almost tripled compared with 1999 and almost doubled compared with 2000.

Only three of the carriers providing scheduled flights to Rigaduring the report year have carried fewer passengers than in 2001, i.e.“Aeroflot” with 29.6%, “Finnair” with 16.3% and “LOT” with 2.7%. These airlineshave reduced flight frequency by 35.8%, 2.4% and 1.7% respectively. “AirBaltic” has carried the majority of passengers to and from Riga, i.e. 43% ofthe total number of passengers. “ČSA” with 10% of passengers handled at“Riga” airport ranks 2nd. As in 2001, “British Airways” with 9% ranks 3rd,“Lufthansa” with 8% ranks 4th, “Finnair” with 8% is 5th, but “Latcharter” with7% is 6th.

City 2000 2001 2002 2002/2001(%) Copenhagen 137 895 152 109 152 109 3.0 Helsinki 65 670 71 712 71 712 -3.9 Prague 34 741 50 084 50 084 27.7 Frankfurt 51 669 54 715 54 715 6.4 London 50 115 53 274 53 274 6.9 Stockholm 71 145 65 094 65 094 -21.0 Moscow 44 194 41 810 41 810 -17.3 Warsaw 10 349 19 687 19 687 1.7 Vienna 20 404 20 567 20 567 -22.8 Kiev 11 087 11 231 11 231 8.2 Tallinn 14 066 11 086 11 086 -11.4 Mugla 2 778 3 186 3 186 2.3x Berlin 391 391 18.0x Vilnius 9 821 6 680 6 680 -3.1 Barcelona 3 514 2 497 2 497 1.6x Heraklion 2 232 1 115 1 115 -3.1 Others 36 374 57 409 56 294 Total 574 356 622 647 622 647 1.7

Table4. Passenger movements per city

Air cargo

In 2002 the handled cargo volume has increased by more than1 300 tons when compared to the previous year. Riga International Airporthas never faced such an important increase in cargo volume before.

Of all the carries providing scheduled flights, “ČSA” achievedthe highest growth of both cargo volume and passengers figures; while“Aeroflot” had the highest rate of cargo volume. Contrary to passenger figures,cargo volume dropped by 20.9% for “British Airways” and by 10.5% for“Lufthansa” for the second year. Cargo volume also slightly decreased also for“Finnair”. Nevertheless, “Finnair” is the major air cargo carrier in Riga with20% of the total cargo volume handled at the airport ((25% in 2001); followedby “Air Baltic” with 16% (21% in 2001); “SAS” with 15% (18% in 2002);“ČSA” with 7% (6% in 2001); “Aeroflot” with 6% (5% in 2001); “Lufthansa”with 5% (7% in 2001); and “British Airways” with 2% in 2001).

Airline 2000 2001 2002 2002/2001(%) Finnair 934 1 323 1 308 -1.1 Air Baltic 1 041 1 099 1 045 -4.9 SAS 845 952 971 2.0 ČSA 249 305 429 40.7 Aeroflot 209 277 394 42.2 Lufthansa 453 389 348 -10.5 British Airways 304 191 151 -20.9 Concors 137 145 5.6 Air Polonia 7 117 16.7x LOT 112 112 115 2.7 Austrian Airlines 36 36 23 -36.0 White Eagle Aviation 190 101 Others 210 280 1 534 Total 4 658 5 209 6 580 26.3

Table5. Cargo transportation (t)

Modernization and extension of the airport

During the report year attention was paid to the reinforcement andtechnical upgrading of aviation security measures. “Riga” Airport investment inaviation security has always been balanced. In view of the 11th Septemberterrorist attacks the airport carried out unscheduled activities to reinforcesecurity, transferring a major part of the investment initially planned forinfrastructure development to security.

In the middle of 2002 cargo X-ray equipment was obtained andinstalled. Latvia is a member of European Aviation Conference (ECAC), which set1 January 2003 the deadline for the introduction of the 100% screening ofchecked baggage at international airports. If this requirement had not beenmet, the aircraft departing from Riga would have faced long handling delays atother European airports; while all the baggage arriving from “Riga” airportwould have been subject to time-consuming security controls. At the end of 2002“Riga” airport launched automatic baggage screening equipment- which is a partof the common baggage security control system- to provide maximum safety andconvenience for passengers. The producer of the equipment is the well-knowncompany ‘Heimann”. The system facilitates three-level baggage control. Theautomatic baggage screening equipment has the capacity to process 1 200baggage units per hour. Accordingly, two systems facilitate security control of2 400 baggage units per hour. The installed equipment ensures securitycontrol fully compliant with the EU requirements in the field of aviationsecurity. In addition to baggage control equipment, a computer room wasarranged and 47 airport employees were trained. Altogether, security equipmentand the reconstruction of baggage conveyors cost the airport 1.6 million EUR.

To reinforce security in the major areas and facilities at theairport, the aircraft handling area and the technical area of the airfield wasfenced off and a checkpoint was arranged.

During the report year the 2nd and 3rd floor reconstruction of thepassenger terminal continued. Airline agencies moved to comfortable offices andafter the reconstruction the 3rd level of passenger terminal was opened. Aftermany years the restaurant run by the well-known Latvian company “Lido” has beenopened at the airport. The airport guests have an opportunity both to enjoy the“Lido” menu and have a panoramic view over the airfield, which was impossiblefor a long time due to the reconstruction. The terminal has also becomefriendlier to passengers with special needs, as the lift facilitates access toany level of the terminal.

In the winter season airfield maintenance requires extra effort andcosts. It is extremely important to ensure the airport operation irrespectiveof the weather and provide all flights according to the flight schedule.Therefore the airport has upgraded transport and emergency systems by obtainingtwo multi-functional airfield maintenance vehicles produced by the well-knowncompany “Marcel Boschung AG”. The vehicles remove snow from runway, taxiwaysand apron areas and provide anti-icing of surfaces. In the summer season thevehicles are used to collect garbage and dust.

Equipment for the treatment of land amelioration systems, loadingand digging was obtained. An airfield area of 10 ha was cleared of underbrush,thus increasing ground capacity.

“Riga” airports is the second of the European airports havingintroduced the passenger loyalty programme N.O.V.A. to the benefit of ourpassengers, despite the fact that it does not bring the airport any extraprofit. However, the programme enables the airport to keep in touch withpassengers regularly and not only while they are travelling.

Financial performance

SJSC Riga International Airport ended the financial year 2002 with202.4 thousand LVL profit. Aviation services with 6 242 100 LVL or75% account for the major revenue share of economic activity. Revenue share ofother services increased year on the year and amounted to 2 033 400LVL in 2002.

Runway and airport infrastructure maintenance, salaries, and creditinterest payments comprise the major expenditure share of economic activity.

In 2002 the airport continued to invest resources in the developmentof infrastructure and purchasing of runway maintenance equipment. One of themain investments was purchasing of a new automatic baggage screening to providemaximum safety for passengers.

Списоклитературы

Wells Alexander “Airport planning and management”/London:McGraw-Hill, 2003

Starptautiskās lidostas “Rīga” 2002. gada pārskats/Rīga: RIX, 2003

www.riga-airport.com