Despite the ongoing economic crisis and the court-ordered scuttling of rate discounts for preferred carriers, Riga International Airport is still adding flights.

RIGA — Riga airport is set to get a handful of new destinations in 2010 including Belgrade, Madrid and Vaasa. The Belarusian company Belavia will start flying from Minsk to Riga to compete with airBaltic on the route.

The flights to the Belarusian capital will start by Jan. 19 next year. The company said it chose Riga as a node in Europe because of its new competitive pricing scheme. The flights with the national carrier begin as Belarus slowly opens itself to the West for business opportunities.

Belavia will fly the 400 kilometer journey Tuesdays, Friday and Sundays weekly. The company has a questionable safety record with two serious incidents in the past including one crash in Armenia.

airBaltic’s flights to Belgrade start May 5, Madrid on June 2 and to Vaasa on March 29 next year bringing the amount of the company’s routes from the Latvia capital to over 60.

All three flights will operate four times per week.

In November Riga airport lowered its tariffs in an effort to attract more airlines and continue increasing its passengers. It now charges far less than before for airport taxes. Competing airport Vilnius also lowered its tariffs severely as it looked to clear out the cobwebs with new airlines servicing the destination.

Some airlines are looking to build their own terminals at the airport, but no progress has been made so far with plans shelved due to financial constraints.