Air Baltic to open base in Finland with single A220-300

Latvian carrier Air Baltic is to open a base in the southwestern Finnish city of Tampere, expanding its footprint beyond the Baltic states for the first time. From May 2022, Air Baltic will operate direct flights from Tampere to Oslo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, Malaga and Rhodes, alongside its established Riga service, the carrier said Tuesday. One aircraft from the airline’s all-Airbus A220-300 fleet will be based at Tampere, Air Baltic states, complementing those based at Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. “We have been performing direct flights from Tampere to Riga for almost five years now,” says Air Baltic CE Martin Gauss. “Our decision to open a new base in Tampere shows our strong commitment to this city, and will offer more convenient and affordable travel options for many Finnish passengers.” In late 2019, Gauss noted the airline’s intention to potentially “place aircraft outside the Baltics”, saying that there was a “50 aircraft limit” on A220s based in the Baltic states “for the year 2025”, according to demand projections at the time.<br/>