Latvian carrier airBaltic: Tallinn Airport to remain a key hub
Tallinn Airport is to remain a key home base for Latvian airline airBaltic, the company has said, despite financial issues affecting the company.
The carrier's recently released annual report for 2025 reveals the company is still running at a loss, though that loss has shrunk to €44 million (from €118 million in 2024).
Revenues grew slightly to €780 million in 2025, airBaltic reported. German airline Lufthansa acquired a 10 percent stake in airBaltic last year.
The company's supervisory board deputy chairman Jurgis Sedlenieks noted Tallinn is to remain a key hub so far as airBaltic is concerned, with new routes to be added.
"In 2025, we were the largest airline at Tallinn Airport. This year, our goal is to open four new destinations from Tallinn. We operate from Tallinn with four aircraft to 20 destinations, including seasonal routes," Sedlenieks said.
The company's supervisory board deputy chairman Jurgis Sedlenieks said new CEO, Erno Hilden, has met expectations during his first three months in office, and has made attaining profitability the main focus of his work.
At the same time, the planned IPO is not the main focus for the airline right now, Sedlenieks added, though additional private capital investments are needed.
"We are currently trying more to secure additional funding from private capital markets. Lufthansa's stake in airBaltic was only finalized in the second half of last year. Not much time has passed since then. Raising private capital is not just at the idea stage right now — concrete work is being done toward that. However, it is no secret that the situation in the aviation market has changed significantly over the past three weeks," Sedlenieks said.
No progress has been made on any potential stake being taken by the Baltic states to the north and south of Latvia, however.
"Although no negotiations are currently underway, airBaltic's leadership has not forgotten contacts with the Estonian and Latvian governments," Sedlenieks said, adding: "Estonian leaders previously clearly rejected the last share offer, while Lithuania said it would examine the matter. The current Lithuanian government is not dealing with the Air Baltic issue."
Issues facing airBaltic and also Latvia's stretch of the Rail Baltica project were behind yesterday's vote of no confidence at the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, in Atis Švinka as transport minister.
With soaring oil prices in the wake of Donald Trump's war on Iran, the price of aviation fuel has doubled to US$1,520 per tonne as of this week.
To what extent this impacts airfares will be the result of a game theory interface with competing airlines, and airBaltic has not taken a decision on that issue yet.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Märten Hallismaa
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
