newstodate.aero

Jan 08, 2021 (newstodate): The Covid-19 pandemic left a lasting mark on the cargo statistics 2020 at Latvia's Riga Airport.
   Total cargo volumes dropped by 18.3 percent, y-o-y, to 18,151 tonnes including 11,802 tonnes of cargo and 6,239 tonnes of mail.
   Compared to 2019, mail volumes were thus down 48 percent, while cargo volumes performed better with a drop by 22 percent, y-o-y.
   Earlier, mail volumes were a strong element in the airport's cargo traffic, constituting 65 percent of the total cargo volumes in 2019, but down to 35 percent in 2020 as the belly cargo capacity on passenger aircraft, notably airBaltic, decreased due to the closing of borders and commercial air traffic in Europe.
   Despite the decline in volumes in 2020, Riga Airport remains adamant on its future with air cargo.
   A new specialized 95,000 sq m cargo handling apron at Riga Airport was officially commissioned on October 16, 2020, directly connected to the area dedicated by Riga Airport to the development of a coming cargo city air cargo service and logistics center with a tender to be closed in 2021.    
   Also in 2021, DHL will start operating a new regional parcel handling complex in the area, and further down the line plans are to develop a multi-functional 9,000 sq m cargo logistics center in cooperation with investors.
   Riga Airport is currently served by seven cargo airlines including Atlas Air, Atran Airlines, Eleron and RAF Avia, as well as integrators Fedex, UPS and DHL.