Latvia’s national airline, AirBaltic, has developed a plan to resume flights to Ukraine and is ready to implement it as soon as the country’s airspace is declared safe.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss stated that the airline is prepared to reallocate aircraft from other routes to serve Ukraine. The plan includes stationing some planes overnight in Ukrainian airports when conditions allow.
“We are ready to fly even tonight if it’s safe. I would even operate empty flights if we were sure we could fly back and start selling tickets,” said Gauss.
Reopening Ukrainian airspace and airports would provide AirBaltic with a vital market, given the strong demand for travel in the region, Gauss explained. He added that access to Ukraine’s airspace would also enable the airline to operate more direct routes to destinations like the UAE and Greece.
Before the airspace closure due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, AirBaltic operated flights from Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa. The airline suspended these services after Ukraine closed its airspace at the beginning of the conflict.
While the timeline for reopening Ukraine’s airspace remains uncertain, Gauss reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to resuming operations in the country as soon as it is safe to do so.
