Riga Airport: Duty-free in Turkish style

Free trade zone at the airport of Riga will be managed by a Turkish company. New operator of duty-free shops at the airport of Riga will be Turkish company TAV Airports Holding.

Agreement on the management of commercial space at the airport of the capital of Latvia was signed for 10 years. Contract according to which under the control of TAV Airports Holding will go commercial zones, including duty-free shops, will take force from 1 January 2011, reported the Hurriyet.

Riga Airport has recently started to take extra importance in the Baltic region. In 2009, the number of flights serviced by the airport increased by 29 new destinations. The total number of passengers who passed through the airport terminals in Riga in 2009 was 4.1 million.

It is worth noting that the management contract for airport commercial area became a logical continuation of another, larger deal, which the representatives of TAV Airports holding have signed with the largest Latvian airline airBaltic yesterday. Under this contract, TAV Airports holding will build a new airport terminal in Riga, as well as manage it.

As expected, the Turkish company will actively participate in the subsequent development of the Riga Airport. It is noted that for the past 6 years, passenger traffic at the main airport of Latvia increased by 32%.

It is worth noting that, in accordance with the contract, the right to operate the new airport facilities Turkish company shares equally with airBaltic.

As for the duty-free agreement, here duty-free TAV Airports Holding will manage not only shops, but currency exchange, car rental offices, pharmacies and other commercial facilities that will be presented in the total area of 4,600 square meters.