On 1st January 2012 a new procedure will be introduced regarding the collection of the charge on the security measures implemented at the airport. All the airlines operating at Riga Airport, with the exception of RYANAIR, have agreed to include the security charge into their air fare, which means that the majority of passengers at the airport will most probably not even notice the difference.
„Security is crucial in aviation and it must be maintained both by the carriers and the airport. An airline may not deliberately disobey the security standards. Therefore the airport will collect the security charge instead of RYANAIR for conducting security checks of the airline’s passengers and their baggage as well as for providing other security-related services,” said Aldis Mūrnieks, member of the board of Riga Airport, inviting RYANAIR passengers to pay due attention to the new procedure.
Those RYANAIR passengers who buy their tickets starting from 1st January 2012 before departure will have to pay the security charge of 7 euros or 4.92 lats. The payment can be made:
• While checking in for the flight at Riga Airport (by bank card);
• At RYANAIR ticket office of Riga Airport (by cash or bank card);
• At the airport services office „Welcome to Riga!” (Arrivals Sector E – by cash or bank card).
Payments will be accepted in lats only. In order to avoid delays the administration of Riga International Airport kindly requests RYANAIR passengers to arrive at the airport for checking in and payment of the security charge at least two and a half hours before departure.
The security charge will not be collected from transit and transfer passengers and the passengers who are under 2 years of age. Those passengers who have bought their air tickets by 31 December 2011 are also released from the security charge. In this case, the passenger at the security check must show the purchase date of the air ticket by presenting to the officer the printout of the ticket booking confirmation received from RYANAIR by e-mail.
The security charge is collected for the passenger, their hold and carry-on baggage security screening, airport security and crisis management (including rescue operations), as well as for aircraft flight safety and civil aviation security supervision provided by the state agency "Civilās aviācijas aģentūra" .
Up to now the security function at Riga International Airport has been financed from the state budget which means that the security services were paid for by all the taxpayers of Latvia, including those who seldom or never travel by air. As the government of Latvia has decided not to finance the security at the airport with the state budget funds starting from the year 2012, the new procedure has been introduced stipulating that the security charge henceforth will be collected only from the departing passengers.
Additional information on the new procedure can be obtained on Riga Airport website: http://ej.uz/drosibas_nodeva