Lithuania is drawing up a contingency plan in the event that Latvia’s national airline, airBaltic, reduces flights or withdraws entirely from Lithuania, Transport Minister Juras Taminskas announced, BNS reports. Earlier, Latvian Finance Minister Maris Kucinskis said that airBaltic would likely need to reduce its operations. Taminskas said that a sudden suspension of airBaltic’s flights would cause short-term disruption but urged against speculation and panic. “We cannot bury airBaltic while it is still alive,” he stated. Other airlines, including Poland’s LOT and Finland’s Finnair, could expand their operations in Lithuania if airBaltic exited, Taminskas suggested. The minister will discuss the situation with the management of Lithuania’s state-owned airport operator, Lietuvos Oro Uostai. Meanwhile, airBaltic assured that Lithuania remained an “important strategic market” with strong demand from Lithuanian passengers.
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