The Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, in its first foray into the expanded European Union, has introduced three new routes between Rīga and the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany

The Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, in its first foray into the expanded European Union, has introduced three new routes between Rīga and the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany. And to mark the event, the airline is offering one-way tickets for as low as GBP 3.99. The three routes, to London’s Stansted Airport, to Hahn Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, and to Tampere, Finland, open Oct. 31, Ryanair announced in a press release. Ryanair will offer daily service to and from Rīga. The airline also announced five new routes to Spain. All together, the company said, it expects 350,000 passengers to fly the eight routes in the next year. The introductory GBP 3.99 rate is for the London-Rīga route and does not include taxes and other charges. From Tampere to Rīga the introductory rate is GBP 4.99, and from Frankfurt to Rīga the rate is GBP 7.99. The addition of Ryanair will bring to 18 the number of passenger and cargo airlines serving Rīga International Airport. British Airlines and the Dutch carrier KLM are among other carriers that in recent months have announced new or expanded service to Rīga. Passenger activity at the airport continues to steadily increase, according to statistics reported by airport management. Last year, 712,000 passengers arrived or departed via Rīga, with the peak coming in September, when 73,000 were served. Through the first half of this year, 432,000 passengers had used the airport, 103,000 of them in June. Ryanair also has introduced a Latvian language section to its Web site.