Daugavpils, the second largest city in Latvia is located 230 km south-east of the Latvian capital, Riga. The city is surrounded by several lakes and nature parks. The history of the city dates back in 1275 when Dünaburg castle was built by the Livonian Order. The city became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1561 and in 1566 the capital of the Inflanty Voivodeship. The city had a large and active Jewish population from 1784 onwards. The town got its present name in 1920 as part of an independent Latvia. The city will be soon well connected with other countries by Daugavpils International Airport. The airport is located 12 km northeast of Daugavpils, near the village of Lociki. The airport is currently under development to allow both international and domestic passenger traffic, as well as international and domestic cargo transport and charter flights to Daugavpils.
Flights to Daugavpils will start plying by 2013. The airport was the former Soviet military air base. By 2005, the base was completely abandoned and is under major development now. When opened, the airport will probably be a destination for airlines and Daugavpils flights from Riga and probably from Moscow, Warsaw and maybe from Germany. The Daugavpils flights inside the EU will most likely be mainly budget airlines.