Latvia to invest another E90m in Air Baltic, citing pandemic

Latvian lawmakers have agreed to grant government-owned Air Baltic another E90m in equity for the purpose of alleviating pandemic-related losses and helping the airline recover. The investment requires approval by the European Commission. In 2020, the Latvian government, which owns nearly all of Air Baltic, invested E250m in the carrier, also for pandemic relief. The country’s cabinet of ministers on 17 August green-lighted the E90m “to compensate the losses caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to support overcoming the economic crisis”, the airline says. “The investment is planned to be returned to the Latvian state in [the] form of proceeds from selling shares during a planned initial public offering of air Baltic in the future,” it adds. Air Baltic lost E278m in 2020, with revenue plummeting 73% year on year. The airline’s fleet includes 27 Airbus A220-300s, according to Cirium data. The Latvian government’s E250m equity investment in 2020 brought the government’s ownership of Air Baltic to 96%.<br/>