Liepāja International Airport


Liepāja International Airport is a regional airport in western Latvia which is certified for international air traffic. Along with Riga International Airport and Ventspils Airport, it is one of the three major airports in Latvia.

Overview

Liepāja International Airport is situated in Grobiņa Municipality, east of Liepāja, from the capital of Latvia, Riga, and from the Lithuanian border. The territory of the airport covers and is integrated within the Liepāja Special Economic Zone.
On September 20, 2016 the airport was recertified for handling commercial flights after a gap of eight years. On December 5, 2016, airBaltic conducted a test flight from Riga to Liepāja using their Bombardier CS300 aircraft. On December 6, 2016, it was announced that they would be conducting a further series of test flights in spring 2017. As of 2019, airBaltic flies between Riga and Liepāja three times weekly in winter and five times weekly in summer with Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.

History

Early during the Cold War, the airfield was a Soviet Anti-Air Defense base. Its aircraft shot down a U.S. Air Force PB4Y-2 Privateer BuNo 59645 on April 8, 1950.
The airport was closed from 20 September 2014 for infrastructure reconstruction works; re-opening on 25 May 2016; fully operational status is from September 2016.

Annual passenger numbers at Liepaja Airport



Number of MovementsFreight
200429825
2005338
2006310
20071,692
20082,695
2009190

Airlines and destinations

Ground transport

route #2 runs between Liepaja International Airport and the city centre.