RIGA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Riga International Airport closed 2020 with a loss of 15.85 million euros (19.3 million U.S. dollars) as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global air traffic, grounding most commercial flights, the airport said in the annual audited report released on Friday.
Last year, Riga Airport received 2.01 million passengers, which was 5.8 million people, or 74 percent below the original target. The number of flights handled by the airport fell by 59 percent from 2019 to 35,000 flights.
The airport's net turnover shrank by 54 percent year-on-year to 29.8 million euros in 2020, down from nearly 65 million euros in 2019.
Although the high share of fixed costs can hardly be reduced without affecting the airport's ability to operate, the airport managed to cut its expenses by 30 percent, or 14.6 million euros last year, noted the report. As a result, Riga Airport's loss last year was smaller than expected at the onset of the pandemic in spring, it added.
"According to preliminary forecasts, the complicated situation in the aviation sector is expected to continue throughout 2021, which is why the airport has developed a crisis strategy with action plans for various future scenarios, which will enable quick response to the ever-changing situation," said Laila Odina, Chairperson of the Airport Board.
Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, Riga Airport remained the leading Baltic airport in 2020, handling 43 percent of all air passengers in the Baltic states, said the report. (1 euro = 1.22 U.S. dollar) Enditem