“Norwegian” airline opens a base at Riga airport and promises to expand the number of destinations

The airline “Norwegian” plans to expand the number of destinations from Riga in the winter season of this year and the next summer season, said Geir Karlsens, executive director of “Norwegian” on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the permanent base of the airline “Norwegian” in Riga.

He stated that the airline plans to announce the new destinations soon.

Karlsen said that this weekend the airline will start flights to Tivat and Corfu, thereby increasing the network of “Norwegian” routes to and from Latvia to six routes.

The airline has wanted to open a base in Riga for some time, noted Karlsen. Last year it didn’t work out due to delays in aircraft deliveries, but this year it has happened. He also mentioned that in total two planes will be stationed at the base, but the number of planes could increase from next year.

Commenting on the investment for the base creation, Karlsen said that he could not name specific numbers, but mainly the investment consisted of recruiting new crew members and organizing training.

Speaking about the number of transported passengers to and from Riga, he said that this year the airline will offer about 400,000 airplane seats, so these indicators will depend on the passengers.

Carlsen informed that this is the twelfth base of “Norwegian” and the sixth country where the airline has opened a base. “I think that the Latvian national airline “airBaltic” also needs competition,” added the executive director of “Norwegian”.

On the other hand, the chairman of the board of Riga airport, Laila Odiņa, stated that last year “Norwegian” carried about 200,000 passengers to and from Riga, and “Norwegian” is the third largest airline in terms of the number of passengers carried at Riga airport. “It is likely that this third place will also be strengthened and increased,” she mentioned.

Odiņa stated that currently no other airline is interested in the possibility of establishing a base at Riga Airport.

The representatives of Riga Airport informed the agency LETA that the representative office of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) in Norway started cooperation with “Norwegian” in 2020, when a business services center was established in Riga.

Thus, the opening of the airline’s base in Riga is the next step in cooperation, which will help develop cooperation between Latvia and Norway in business, tourism and other areas.