The building of the RIGA International Airport was built in October 1974.

Since 1993 the RIGA International Airport has implemented several large modernization and expansion projects including waiting-rooms for business-class passengers, VIP centre, computerized information system and computerized tickets and luggage registration system.

The first largest reconstruction works – rehabilitation of runway and change of illumination system – took place in 1994, followed by the upgrade of the airport administration building, new passenger busses and runway technologies. Gradually the technical park of the airport was reconstructed and new parking lots were created.

On 19 January the first scheduled flight from RIGA International Airport was performed by the Belarusian airline Belavia that would carry passengers  between Riga and Minsk.

On 28 and 29 January RIGA International Airport handled one of the world’s biggest aircraft   - AN 124 Ruslan. The heavy air cargo charter company Ruslan International with a freight carrier AN 124 from RIGA Airport transported a gas generator weighing 46 tonnes.

From 1 February a new service is available at RIGA International Airport - the economy long-term car park (P3). A lower and simpler tariff of 3 lati per day will be applied in the new car park.

SJSC RIGA International Airport with co-financing from the European Union Cohesion Fund in four years will implement significant infrastructure modernisation and reconstruction projects amounting to 95 million euros. For the realisation of RIGA International Airport infrastructure projects 58 million euros will be attracted from the EU Cohesion Fund and 36 million euros contributed by RIGA International Airport. The infrastructure development project will include the following parts:

1)            Renovation of the runway pavement,

2)            Strengthening of the runway strip,

3)            Construction of new taxiways,

4)            Modernisation of the airfield in compliance with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation)    Category II requirements,

5)            Reconstruction and expansion of aircraft aprons and construction of new aircraft stands,

6)            Construction of aircraft anti-icing platforms at both ends of the runway,

7)            Reconstruction of the storm water and underground drainage systems,

8)            Construction of a hangar for washing of the airfield maintenance machines,

9)            Construction of a new waste collection site.

On 13 March RIGA International Airport welcomed the first scheduled flight of Wizz Air, the biggest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, from Oslo, Norway. On 29 March the Romanian national carrier TAROMcommenced flights on the route Riga – Bucharest.

On 19 April the Ukrainian flag carrier AeroSvit started its operations at RIGA International Airport. The Ukrainian airline will perform daily flights between Riga and Kiev. On 21 April flights to Gothenburg, the second biggest town in Sweden, were commenced by the Swedish airline   City Airline.

By implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air RIGA International Airport has become still friendlier and more comfortable to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and has been set as an example to other EU airports in compliance with the EU Regulation.

On 26 April RIGA International Airport received the Emerging Market Airports Award (EMA) in the category   „The Best Airport”, handling up to five million passengers per year. The first EMA award ceremony took place in Dubai.

Eruption of a volcano in Iceland took its toll on the number of passengers and flights at RIGA International Airport. The number of passengers in April dropped by 9.2 percent while the number of flights was cut by 5 percent. Other airports whose airspace was affected by the volcanic ash cloud, too, suffered decreases in passenger traffic in April.

According to the data of the aviation industry research and analysis publication OAG Aviation Solutions (OAG), RIGA International Airport for the third time was ranked among the world’s top 100 airports by the number of international flight passengers handled weekly.