Parties in Latvia’s coalition government will discuss possible changes to the management of the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, LSM reports. Earlier, the airline announced that it would cancel nearly 4,700 flights in summer 2025 due to delays in aircraft engine maintenance. The company insisted that the delays were beyond its control. Aviation industry experts…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, cannot meet its obligations and achieve its strategic objectives if the company continues to operate with negative equity, supervisory board chairman Klavs Vasks stated, LETA reports. An additional capital injection from the state is therefore probably inevitable unless the government is prepared to privatise the company, Vasks said. The investment…
The possible closure of the Baltic Sea should “remain on the table,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Rinkevics addressed the issue of protecting critical infrastructure, stressing the need to increase patrols and impose sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet. However, he noted that almost 2,000 vessels travel through…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, will cancel altogether 4,670 flights in summer 2025, LSM reports. The company will suspend flights on 19 routes and cut the number of flights on 21 routes. The cancellations will affect around 67,160 passengers. The company said that US manufacturer Pratt & Whitney’s engine maintenance work on the airline’s Airbus…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed in final reading a new tax on local credit institutions, LETA reports. Under the new law, credit institutions registered in Latvia and branches of foreign credit institutions will have to make quarterly solidarity contributions for the next three years. The tax will amount to 60% of their excess…
Latvian ministers informally discussed the possibility of cancelling the Rail Baltica railway project but decided against such a move, Prime Minister Evika Silina revealed, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina said that the government concluded that abandoning the project would result in a significant loss of invested resources. Moreover, the project will…
The first ship carrying Latvia’s strategic oil reserves arrived at the Freeport of Riga on 2 December 2024, the Ministry of Economy announced, LETA reports. Economy Minister Viktors Valainis said that the state would purchase 20% of the required reserves annually. The state would thus be in possession of 100% of the oil reserves in…
Latvia needs to set a maximum price cap on the Rail Baltica railway project, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, LETA reports. Speaking at a meeting of a parliamentary committee of inquiry on the project, Silina stressed that the biggest problem right now was funding. She said that the Ministry of Transport was “painting visions” and…
The defence committee of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved President Edgars Rinkevics’s nomination of Brigade General Kaspars Pudans as the next commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), LETA reports. Pudans emphasised the need to develop Latvia’s defence capabilities further. Currently, Pudans serves as commander of the Latvian National Guard (LRZS). He…