Passengers who have arrived at the Airport two hours before their flight and have missed it due to the fault of the Airport will be compensated by the Airport for the direct damage suffered. The Airport apologises to all passengers for the inconvenience experienced these days.
If passengers despite their timely arrival at the Airport have missed their flight due to the fault of the Airport, passengers are invited to fill out the claim form, which can be found on the Riga Airport website or at the terminal information centre to request a compensation of the direct losses suffered. The Airport will consider each passenger's claim individually, taking into account the circumstances of the particular situation.
The rapidly growing number of passengers requires greater involvement of Airport resources and efficient solutions for the organization of passenger flows. At the same time, the Airport is well aware of the capacity of the existing terminal, which significantly restricts the possible solutions.
“We are responsible for the comfort and needs of our passengers, and we also need to address the staff workload caused by the overflow of passengers in the current terminal. The new terminal is in the design phase, but solutions must also be found in the current conditions,” says Ilona Līce, Chairperson of the Board of Riga Airport.
Currently, Riga Airport has two key solutions. The first is to inform passengers that they should arrive at the Airport at least two hours prior to the scheduled flight and to prepare for the security control in a timely and proper manner. One passenger who is fully prepared for security controls (has packed liquids as required, has removed outerwear, belt or other accessories, taken computer, tablet or external battery etc. from hand baggage) saves on average 30 seconds of security control time. In the so-called “peak hours”, with an average of about 1 000 passengers being screened every hour, a properly prepared passenger can accelerate queue movement and security staff can serve an average of 15% more passengers. The second solution is to increase the motivation of our staff members, which will allow us to perform security control procedures more efficiently and expeditiously, while maintaining high security requirements.
“We have already approached our staff members to find solutions, as our goal is to increase employee satisfaction, motivation and efficiency. We need to work closely together to address the issue of the capacity of the current terminal building,” says Ilona Līce.
Although Riga Airport is recognized as the Fairest Payer in the country in 2019, employing over 1 200 employees, it is aware that employees would like to receive higher salaries. Salaries are regularly reviewed to take account of staff preferences and Airport’s abilities, for example, by an average of 15% this year; the proportionally highest increase is for the recipients of the lowest salaries.
“We are already collecting recommendations and suggestions that will increase employee satisfaction. We will compile them and submit them to the Airport Board. We have been heard before, therefore I hope it will also be so this time,” says Juris Štekelis, Head of the Latvian Airport Labour Union.