Latvian airline Air Baltic will have a strategic investor by the end of the year, assured the Ministry of Transport. A lot of work has been done to find a strategic investor for the airline and heavy negotiations were conducted with many airlines of the world. The searching for strategic investor was done together with the consulting firm Lazard Freres.
The state owns 80% of the shares of Air Baltic, while another 20% are in the hands of the Danish company Lars Tusen.
“We are not planning any cuts. On the contrary, we are working on the development of Air Baltic and the strengthening of competitiveness. Direct flights will be added to three more airports – Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn”, said the Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of Latvia, Kaspars Ozoliņs.
Despite the very successful year for Air Baltic, the company needs an investor. According to the rules of the European Union, the state can not invest in an airline, as such actions will be treated as state support.
The government has not decided yet either to sell all the shares of the airline or only a part.
Air Baltic is a state-owned Latvian low-cost carrier and the country’s flag carrier, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Marupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is at Riga International Airport with further bases at Tallinn Airport and Vilnius Airport.
