"We received an offer from the Latvian Ministry of Transport to acquire up to a 10 percent stake in airBaltic for €14 million. The offer was the same for both Lithuania and Lufthansa. Lufthansa decided to acquire a stake. Estonia decided that while airBaltic is an important partner, Estonia will not acquire a stake in the airline," said Leis.

The minister cited, among other reasons, the airline's financial situation.

He said Estonia and Lithuania had two options for acquiring the stake.

"First, to buy the stake in July, or, if airBaltic carries out an IPO at the end of the year or next year, Estonia would have the opportunity to become a strategic investor by purchasing a stake then," Leis said.

"There is no concrete information yet regarding a possible IPO, so no decision could be made on that topic today," he added.

According to Leis, Estonia plans to develop Tallinn Airport at a strong pace. "Where we've gotten to already is very good; we want to serve five million passengers by 2030," said Leis.

Over the next three years, Estonia will not raise airport fees.

"We hope to attract more new airlines here," the minister said. New routes will be offered additional favorable conditions to ensure planes depart from and stay overnight in Tallinn.

"We are working with airBaltic to have them treat Estonia as a home market," Leis said. "Developing Tallinn Airport also benefits Air Baltic."

On Thursday, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Estonia should seriously consider acquiring a stake in the Latvian state-owned airline.

Latvia's offer to acquire a stake in Air Baltic would have been an opportunity to safeguard strategic interests and maintain direct connections, which in turn support both tourism and the competitiveness of the economy, head of the chamber Mait Palts wrote.

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