RAF-Avia is a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

headquartered in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and based at

Riga International Airport RIX Riga Airport (; ) is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 107 destinations as of September 2024. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines a ...

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

12–18 April 2005

History

The airline was established in 1990 with the purpose of delivering parts and manufacturing materials for the

Riga Autobus Factory The Riga Autobus Factory (RAF; ) was a factory in Jelgava, Latvia, making vans and minibuses under the brand name Latvija. History Origins, Riga period During the Soviet period, RAF and UAZ were the only producers of vans and minibuse ...

(RAF). It started operations in 1991. In 1994, RAF-Avia began to move into the commercial charter sector. In 1996, it became a private limited company. It is 100% owned by the RAF-Avia group. In August 2016, the airline stationed two aircraft at

Frankfurt Hahn Airport Hahn Airporthahn-airport.de
retrieved 30 April 2025 () , also colloquially known and formerly officially br ...

to operate ad hoc charter flights.

Destinations

RAF-Avia operates cargo services for

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DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

and others, as well as transport for the military and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and passenger charters. In late 2015 RAF-Avia announced that it is considering starting regular passenger flights in 2016.

Fleet

Current fleet

The RAF-Avia fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of May 2025):

Former fleet

The RAF-Avia fleet previously included the following aircraft (as of September 2015): * 1 further Antonov An-26

Incidents and accidents

* On 29 October 2014, an RAF-Avia An-26 was guided to

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

by RAF fighter jets after losing communication with air traffic controllers over southern England. * On 7 January 2019, the SAAB 340B YL-RAF on a positioning flight from Riga to Savonlinna (EFSA, FI) skidded off the runway during landing and was stuck in snow. While there were no injuries, there was damage to the aircraft at both propellers, landing lights and tyres. * On April 26, 2021, an RAF-Avia AN-26 flying from Helsinki to St. Petersburg made an emergency landing at Pulkovo Airport due to a failure of the left engine. The landing was made safely and without casualties. * On February 6, 2024, the SAAB 340A YL-RAL, on wet-lease for

Aeroitalia Aeroitalia Società a responsabilità limitata, SRL is an Italy, Italian airline. It operates a fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation, Boeing 737s and ATR 72s from operating bases in Milan Bergamo Airport, Bergamo, Comiso Airport, Comiso and Rome ...

, suffered a failure of the left-hand engine during the initial climb out of Rome Fiumicino. The aircraft returned safely to Rome after a few minutes.

References

External links

* {{Airlines of Latvia Airlines of Latvia Airlines established in 1990 Companies based in Riga Latvian companies established in 1990 1990 establishments in Latvia