Rīga Airport to change brand and build 'airport city'

Rīga International Airport plans to rebrand and work on the creation of an airport city, said Laila Odiņa, chairwoman of the airport's board, at a presentation event on January 22, Latvian Television's Kārlis Miksons reports.

The new brand name of the airport is planned to be RIX Riga Airport. The brand's slogan is “closer than expected”.

A new terminal of the airport and the airport city ("RIX Airport City") are the two main development directions of the airport.

The RIX Airport City development envisages the creation of hotels, office centers, logistics, aviation cargo, and e-commerce warehouses that will not only provide new jobs but also create development opportunities for a wide variety of businesses. Up to €300 million is earmarked for investment here.

“Work is currently underway on attracting investors, but we plan to conclude the first phase in 2028,” Odiņa said at the presentation event.

The construction of the new Riga airport terminal building is due to begin in the second half of this year and must be completed by the end of 2028. The total volume of construction will be more than 45,000 square meters, while investments are estimated at EUR 167 million.

“Riga airport is becoming a place that is much more than just a traffic hub. We become a self-sufficient destination, combining the urban and travel experiences,” said Odiņa.

By 2030, the airport expects to reach the 9-million mark in terms of the number of passengers served, but it is hoped to increase that number to 16.1 million by 2050.

In order to implement the strategic plans of the airport, a new brand and visual identity of Riga airport has been created by the design studio “Asketic” selected in an open competition in cooperation with the advertising agency “WKND”, involving also airport employees and cooperation partners in the process.

“We want the airport to be a future business card for Latvia, we want to emphasize that RIX Riga Airport is the main airport of the Baltic because there are no airports more significant than our airport. At the same time, we want to signal that Riga is already an important urban travel center in northern Europe. It is important to understand that the airport is not just a travel hub, but an opportunity platform,” Edgars Pētersons, spokesman for the agency WKND, said at the presentation event.

Total amount of the brand development agreement is EUR 92,607 without value-added tax (VAT), which includes the development of a brand strategy, the development of basic and sub-brand visual identity, and the development of the brand's visual identity.

“Looking at the colors of the new brand and visual identity, we have included shades of nature - lichen and moss greens. It places an emphasis not only on the environment open to the passenger on arrival at the airport, but also on the airport's path towards climate-neutral action, ” said Mikelis Baštiks, a graphic designer and co-founder of studio Asketic.

This year, it is planned to introduce the new visual identity in more than half of the materials – digital environment, record-keeping materials, souvenirs, signs, terminal information materials, clothing, transport, and elsewhere.

Source: Press release (Eng.LSM.lv (Latvian Public Broadcasting), Kārlis Miksons (Latvian Television))
Photo: Ilustrācija