newstodate.aero
Sep 12, 2018 (newstodate): Riga Airport, in Latvia, is determined to promote its role as a cargo-friendly airport in the Baltic region.
Already now, the airport is seeing brisk growth in its cargo volumes reaching some 25,500 tonnes in 2017 and a sustained growth in 2018 as well.
-We accumulated rich experience and gained quite a reputation during the period with NATO uplift from 2012 of equipment and supplies for the Afghan campaign, again confirmed from July 2017 by Turkish Cargo's twice-weekly freighter operations at Riga, says Arthur Kokars, Riga Airport Advisor to the Board.
-Unfortunately, Turkish Cargo unexpectedly moved its operation to Vilnius after a nine-months period, but it again demonstrated our capacity for handling scheduled charter operations with wide-body freighters.
-And while this change moved capacity away from the airport, the sustained rise in volumes even after this change proved that the market is indeed calling for uplift capacity at Riga.
-This is further demonstrated also by a growing number of charter flights bringing in e-shipments from China for transiting at Riga Airport for onward distribution outside EU, notably Russia.
-We are keen to build the infrastructure supporting a sustained growth in cargo operations and work on a new freighter apron accommodating up to four wide-body freighters is now in progress, plans for a modern cargo logistics complex are moving forward, and DHL is in the planning stage of establishing a new own terminal at Riga Airport as well.
-What we need now is to draw the attention of cargo airlines towards Riga Airport as an ideal location for transferring not least volumes of e-trade shipments between Asia and Europe as well as new opportunities for lifting European and regional exports back to Asian destinations, says Mr Kokars.
Already now, the airport is seeing brisk growth in its cargo volumes reaching some 25,500 tonnes in 2017 and a sustained growth in 2018 as well.
-We accumulated rich experience and gained quite a reputation during the period with NATO uplift from 2012 of equipment and supplies for the Afghan campaign, again confirmed from July 2017 by Turkish Cargo's twice-weekly freighter operations at Riga, says Arthur Kokars, Riga Airport Advisor to the Board.
-Unfortunately, Turkish Cargo unexpectedly moved its operation to Vilnius after a nine-months period, but it again demonstrated our capacity for handling scheduled charter operations with wide-body freighters.
-And while this change moved capacity away from the airport, the sustained rise in volumes even after this change proved that the market is indeed calling for uplift capacity at Riga.
-This is further demonstrated also by a growing number of charter flights bringing in e-shipments from China for transiting at Riga Airport for onward distribution outside EU, notably Russia.
-We are keen to build the infrastructure supporting a sustained growth in cargo operations and work on a new freighter apron accommodating up to four wide-body freighters is now in progress, plans for a modern cargo logistics complex are moving forward, and DHL is in the planning stage of establishing a new own terminal at Riga Airport as well.
-What we need now is to draw the attention of cargo airlines towards Riga Airport as an ideal location for transferring not least volumes of e-trade shipments between Asia and Europe as well as new opportunities for lifting European and regional exports back to Asian destinations, says Mr Kokars.