The investment of additional public funds in the national airline "airBaltic" is not excluded, acknowledged Prime Minister Evika Silina on Thursday in the Latvian Radio program "Krustpunktā."
According to her, a regional airline like "airBaltic" must constantly develop, which requires additional investments.
The Prime Minister emphasized that it is necessary to think about how to help the airline, considering its contribution to the economy of Latvia.
In response to a question about the possibility of additional funding from the state budget, Silina stated that such an option "can never be ruled out." According to her, "the state as a shareholder must be ready to act in a changing business environment."
Signals about the need for additional funds from "airBaltic" have already been received, however, the airline has not approached the government with such a request, Silina acknowledged. Currently, "airBaltic" is looking for additional partners to attract funds, she emphasized.
As reported, Minister of Transport Aitis Shvinkas stated to the LETA agency on Tuesday that the airline "airBaltic," in addition to the initial public offering (IPO) of shares, should evaluate other tools for attracting private capital.
Shvinkas mentioned that on Tuesday, during a closed part of the meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers met with the new CEO of "airBaltic" Erno Hilden, who informed the government about his experience and work plan and noted that in 2026, "airBaltic" will need to attract private capital, so the company has been tasked again to assess market opportunities and prepare a proposal.
When asked whether the issue of necessary additional state funding was discussed at the government meeting, the Minister of Transport answered negatively.
In 2024, the "airBaltic" group operated with audited losses of 118.159 million euros compared to a profit the previous year. The group's turnover increased by 11.9% compared to 2023, reaching 747.572 million euros.
At the end of August 2025, the German national airline "Lufthansa" became a shareholder of "airBaltic." The Latvian state now owns 88.37% of the company's shares, "Lufthansa" holds 10%, financial investor Lars Tuessen through his company "Aircraft Leasing 1" owns 1.62%, and other owners hold 0.01%. The company's equity capital amounts to 41.819 million euros.
On August 30, 2024, the government of Latvia decided that the state must retain at least 25% plus one share in the capital of the company after the IPO of "airBaltic."
