The Latvian airline Air Baltic faces the end of October 2021 that the Ryanair subsidiary Buzz will open a new base in Riga. A total of 16 additional routes are to be added, most of which are already served by Air Baltic.

The Ryanair Group will be based in the Latvian capital of the Buzz-operated Boeing 737. Malta Air, Ryanair and Lauda Europe will also fly from other bases to Riga. It is currently planned that the Vienna route will be served both from Riga with Buzz aircraft and from the Austrian capital with Lauda aircraft.

The following goals are to be gradually added from the Latvian capital from October 2021:

• Aarhus
• Bristol
• Budapest
• Burgas
• Frankfurt Hahn
• Gothenburg
• Krakow
• Kiev Boryspil
• Lviv
• Malaga
• Memmingen
• Sandefjord
• Palmero
• Paris Beauvais
• Rome Ciampino
• Warsaw Modlin

Ryanair chose Buzz - Lauda Europe received nothing

"We are pleased to announce the opening of a new base in Riga, which will support economic recovery and international connectivity, and which will add 2021 new routes from the end of October 16," said Jason McGuinness, Commercial Director at Ryanair. The Polish subsidiary Buzz will initially station two Boeing 737s in Riga. Taking into account the newly announced routes, the group will offer 30 routes from the Latvian capital.

Before the corona pandemic, Riga was traded as a possible new base of the Laudamotion at the time. Rumors persisted and intensive discussions with the airport have already been held. While the successor Lauda Europe will station two Airbus A320s each in Zagreb and Zadar and has a base each in Vienna and Palma, the Latvian capital was left empty-handed within the group. The job obviously went to the Polish sister Buzz. According to the current planning status, Lauda Europe machines will only be used on the Vienna route.