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Riga

By Richard Bowater

We had not been out of the country since 2019 so by September this year it was time for a long overdue trip. The cheapest price trip calculation came back with Riga Latvia again with Ryanair from Newcastle this time. The flight times were not very good as you lost most of the first day and went home early in the morning if you went Monday until Friday.

Security was reasonably quick after which we struggled to find a mangy couch to sit on with a limited view of the ramp. The ramp only had a couple of Jet2s and a single TUI. During the wait for our Ryanair 738 there was a flow of returning Jet2s and TUIs, one of notice being in Robinson colours. The Southside had N1WW Global Express parked and nothing else, viewed from our Ryanair 738 EI-EVP on departure. We arrived in the dark and it was late so straight to the city for food and then the hotel.

The next morning we ventured to the outer city to find the final few known wrecks and relics dotted about that we didn’t see last time. This time we figured out the route to see Mil 26 RA-06010 at Aviatest via the 13 bus. The helicopter was previously inside the test centre, it is now parked in the rear car park on public view.

The only other noted aircraft that I hadn’t seen was an Antonov 2. This was supposedly parked on an old airfield which is now used as an industrial site. Unfortunately it had been removed to an unknown location. The location is near to a large shopping centre so not a total bust.

On the Wednesday we planned to make a return visit to the Riga aircraft museum. On our previous visit it was located next to the airport terminal building but due to building work it has been moved to the Southside of the airfield near to the viewing area. Can you imagine a UK airport being so generous and not just calling the scrap men.

First we decided to visit the terminal this was via the 22 bus from the city. Once there I went to see what was parked in the storage area. This time very little, UL-RAG RAF Avia Saab 340 stored, LY-PLW an A330 last operated by Heston Airlines and LX-GVV A319. Parked nearer to the terminal there was 9H-ETA 737 MAX 8 of SmartLynx, one of four that they have acquired.

For the museum you have to go back towards the city and double back on the 43 bus which serves the village of Skulte. Once at Skulte the museum is a short walk towards the airfield. The museum was difficult to enter as you have to phone the owner, who speaks mainly Russian. He eventually did cycle up to the gate and take 10 Euros each from you.

The biggest surprise was that they had moved everything from the old site and it was now all re-arranged in its new home. Previously the ex Aeroflot Tu 134A and the Tu 22M bomber were distant on the airfield. Antonov 14 01 Red has left and gone to Belgorod Russia. New to the collection is 38 Blue IL 28 which was previously mounted in the village of Skulte. RA-02802 BAe 125-700 has also been donated / acquired from the airport.

A good few hours could be spent at the museum but as we had been before it was time to go to the viewing area. The museum owner wasn’t to be found and the only open gate was at the rear of the museum. This opened to a road that takes you to the main road one way and the engineering company the other. A quick look near the hangar produced a couple of aircraft identities. Long term stored VQ-BNY and VP-BAO CRJ 200s of Iraero. 9H-BGK CRJ 200 of Blue Square Aviation was a surprise. Only one of three BAe 125/Hawker types could be identified this being N548LR Hawker 1000.

The viewing mound is very near to the museum so after a quick walk it was time to see what activity there was. To the right is a large FBO hangar. If you are lucky the doors might be open, on arrival they were not but 737 BBJ M-URUS was parked outside possibly stored. And after about an hour YL-ARE ERJ-135 and LX-LUX BD-700 were produced from the hangar and parked on the line.

The Air Baltic hangar is to the left with a parking area. This contained three DHC-8s and a number of stored and under maintenance Airbus A220s. To the left again is the terminal building.

The war in the Ukraine has meant the numerous daily Aeroflot, UTair and other Soviet carriers have ceased there operations so no more Sukhoi Superjets.

Air Baltic had at least five A220s in storage. A number of their aircraft seem to depart and operate in other countries for a week so not much chance to see the whole fleet. At the same time they had leased in at least a Cyprus Airways A319, the Carpatair A319 and a Fokker 100 and possibly a SkyUp 737 from the Ukraine.

The viewing was slow as predicted but during the couple of hours a few interesting aircraft did appear. Citation UC-35A 90102, Duke 30 of the US Army. The based Carpatair F100 landed and two of the Air Baltic special livery aircraft. Air Baltic produced about twelve others along with an ATR of Finnair and a DHC 8 of LOT. And a second SmartLynx 737 MAX 8 9H-TAU, in the company scheme, all white.

The 43 bus stop back to Riga is near to a local shop so supplies were bought whilst waiting for the half hour service back to Riga. This location is where 38 Blue IL 28 used to be on display.

The Friday was our final day and unfortunately the return flight was mid morning so it was back on the bus with our five day pass which covers the busses and trams in the city. The departure walkways at the airport and lounge give you a chance to view the parked aircraft at Airline Support Baltic. They have a new hangar and activity seems to be on the increase with Embraer 135 and CRJ family of jets mixed in with Hawker bizz and a long term Challenger N601AD. YI-BAH CRJ wears Fly Bagdad colours it was parked with a Latvian registered one that was just too far to identify.

Our flight was delayed so more time was available to watch the Friday morning movements. From my vantage point I could see YL-LDS A321 SmartLynx which had arrived overnight along with the regular cargo flights ATR 72 EC-LHV Swiftair and ASL 737 800F F-HIQE.

EI-ESV eventually appeared and parked on stand closely followed by surprise UR-SQE 737 of SkyUp Airlines. The based Carpatair A319 also arrived before our departure but unfortunately not photographed.