Today, on 20 August, the Cabinet of Ministers took note of the informative report prepared by the Ministry of Transport “Termination of participation in the state aid instrument (for covering losses caused by the crisis caused by Covid-19, overcoming the economic crisis and stabilizing the sector) granted to SJSC "Riga International Airport"” as of 31 December 2023 which means that the Airport has successfully fulfilled the conditions and concluded the participation in the aid instrument.
31 December 2023 is considered the moment of completion of the state aid instrument.
State aid to the Airport was granted with the permission of the European Commission in 2020 to cover losses caused by the crisis due to Covid-19, overcome the economic crisis and stabilize the situation.
According to the decision of the European Commission, which approved the granting of state aid to the airport, the state aid is considered terminated if an independent assessment concludes that two years after the receipt of the state aid instrument, the market value of Riga Airport's shares (equity) has increased compared to its value at the moment of the receipt of the state aid. The market value of the company on 31 December 2023 was determined by independent auditors and was higher than the market value before receiving the aid.
To overcome the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, in order to prevent the company's liquidity problems, to cover the expected losses and the financial commitments, the capital of Riga Airport was increased by 35.23 million euros, and 4.51 million euros remained at the disposal of the company from the dividends for 2019.