With steady growth in passenger traffic, RIX Riga Airport's turnover in the first six months of this year reached EUR 35.9 million, which is 4% more than in the same period last year. The Airport closed the first half of the year with a profit of 2.11 million, according to the unaudited condensed interim statement for January-June 2024.
Revenue from aviation services reached EUR 20.7 million during this period, one percentage point above the same period in 2023, while non-aviation services increased by 9 percentage points.
The company's operating costs for the first six months of 2024 were EUR 36 million.
In the first half of 2024, RIX Riga Airport handled 3.16 million passengers, which is almost 4% more than in the first half of 2023. Direct passengers represented 79.5% of the total passenger traffic.
Although air cargo volumes reached 8 424 tonnes in the first half of the year, down 10% compared to the previous year, there are signs of a recovery in air cargo growth in recent months. This is mainly driven by military flight volumes and the launch of regular Lufthansa Cargo flights since this May.
Total investments in the first half of 2024 reached EUR 4.4 million. The biggest investment projects were the reconstruction of the technical services building (EUR 882 thousand), the completion of the passenger air bridge replacement project and the commissioning of two more passenger air bridges for a total amount of EUR 896 thousand. The reconstruction of the Airport's power supply system continues and the reconstruction of several boarding sectors in the terminal has started. Significant investments were also made in passenger and aircraft servicing infrastructure, with the completion of the air processing facilities project in Terminal E and the replacement of the elevator in Terminal F. EUR 743 000 have been invested in the development of the electricity supply infrastructure and work has started on the infrastructure required for charging electric cars.
In June, a financing agreement was signed with the EU's European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) for the reconstruction of apron 4 of the Airport, which will provide a dual-use infrastructure for civil and military purposes. It involves the reconstruction of more than 80 000 square metres of apron hard surface, creating ten aircraft stands, taxiways and service lanes.
This summer, Riga Airport has also updated its Net Zero 2035 climate neutrality roadmap, setting the new target date for achieving zero emissions by 2035 instead of the previously planned 2050. Since 1 July this year, the Airport started purchasing electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Together with the electricity generated by the solar park, green energy will account for almost one-fifth of the total energy consumption in 2024, or 18%.