The Latvian government will have to relinquish its controlling stake in the national air carrier, airBaltic, “sooner or later,” Prime Minister Evika Silina said, LETA reports. The government wants airBaltic to operate more on market principles, she stated. If airBaltic’s planned IPO fails, the government will make a “separate decision” on the company’s future, Silina…
The new strategic investor in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, will be “a big positive surprise,” CEO Martin Gauss stated, LSM reports. He said that the identity of the investor would indicate that airBaltic was “recognised internationally as a serious airline.” Also, the investor would welcome the continued shareholding of the Latvian state in the…
The number of Lithuanians travelling to Belarus has dropped by five times over two years, according to the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), BNS reports. In August 2024, Lithuanian citizens made 10,000 trips to Belarus, which was down from 33,000 a year earlier and 50,000 two years ago. Belarus enabled visa-free travel for Lithuanian citizens…
A potential cholera case has been recorded in Estonia for the first time in over 30 years, according to the Estonian Health Board (Terviseamet), ERR reports. A child who was hospitalised in Tallinn after returning from overseas tested positive for cholera. Another child from the same family who developed similar symptoms was hospitalised as well….
The number of passengers using train transport in Latvia totalled 8,989,953 in the first half of 2024, which was 767,317 (9.3%) more than in the same period of 2023, according to the country’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), LSM reported. Electric trains on suburban routes carried 8,024,544 passengers, which was 89% of the…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) served 3.2mn passengers in the first half of 2024, which was 4% more than in the same period of 2023, LSM reports. The number of passengers now exceeds the pre-pandemic indicators. RIX accounted for 40% of the total number of passengers and 38% of flights served at all Baltic airports…
Amid rising incomes and optimism about their financial situation, Lithuanians are spending more on food and non-essentials but are increasingly reluctant to dine out due to high restaurant prices driven by rising labour costs and the expiration of pandemic-era tax breaks, LRT reports. While supermarket food sales are boosting economic growth, restaurant turnover has fallen…
Estonian investment holding company Infortar has announced a voluntary takeover offer to acquire all remaining shares of shipping and tourism group Tallink Grupp for EUR 0.55 per share, GlobeNewswire reports. Infortar currently owns 46.76% of Tallink’s shares and seeks to acquire the remaining 53.24%. The offer period runs from 2 July 2024 to 5 August…
Estonian bus operator Lux Express has opened a night-time bus service between Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, and the Latvian capital, Riga, BNS reports. The daily bus departs from Tartu at 11:15pm and arrives at Riga International Airport at 4:20am. In addition, Lux Express has a morning and an evening departure from Tartu to Riga, and…
