Lufthansa to cut early-morning Riga–Frankfurt flight
Lufthansa will drop its early-morning flight on the Riga–Frankfurt route starting with the 2026/2027 winter season, leaving one daily flight instead of two. Riga Airport will still offer direct winter connections to five German cities.
Riga Airport has confirmed that Lufthansa will no longer operate its early-morning flight on the Riga–Frankfurt route. Until now the airline ran two flights a day on this route, but the change is part of Lufthansa's 2026/2027 winter timetable, announced earlier this spring.
Despite the reduction, Riga Airport will still offer extensive winter connectivity to Germany, with direct flights to five destinations: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. The Frankfurt route is also served by Latvia's national carrier, airBaltic, alongside Lufthansa.
Wider network changes
Lufthansa's decision coincides with broader adjustments to airBaltic's winter flight network. The national carrier plans to close nine routes and reduce frequency on 16 others this winter season. Routes set to close include Riga–Ljubljana, Riga–Malta, Tallinn–London Gatwick, Vilnius–Berlin and Vilnius–Dubai, as well as several seasonal leisure routes to Las Palmas and the Palanga–Tenerife route.
Frequency cuts will also affect several popular destinations: the Riga–Copenhagen route will see three fewer weekly flights, while Riga–Stockholm, Riga–Frankfurt and Riga–Tampere will each lose two weekly flights.
Meanwhile, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is expected to announce its future operations in Latvia on September 17.
Last year, Riga Airport handled 7.111 million passengers, matching 2024 levels but 9% below the pre-pandemic figure recorded in 2019. Riga Airport remains the largest aviation hub in the Baltic states.
