AirBaltic said it’s developed a plan to resume flights to Ukraine at short notice of the airspace reopening, three years after the Russian invasion severed the country’s air links.
The Latvian airline plans to shift capacity from other destinations into Ukraine once safe to do so, Chief Executive Officer Martin Gauss said on Monday in an interview. AirBaltic would also want to keep some aircraft in Ukraine overnight, a practice known as night-stopping, he said.
“We can be flying tonight if it’s safe,” he said. “I would even fly empty there if it’s clear we can fly out and would sell the tickets, and the tickets are sold.”
Optimism for the end of the war in Ukraine is gaining momentum, with US President-elect Donald Trump saying he could settle the country’s conflict with Russia. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested he’d accept a cease-fire with Russia that left parts of his country occupied in return for NATO security guarantees over the rest.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kyiv on Monday and offered additional military aid, which stands to strengthen Zelenskiy’s hand in any cease-fire talks.
AirBaltic had a strong market in Ukraine and previously operated flights from Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa but was forced to suspend all flights when the airspace closed because of the conflict. Airlines are now assessing when and how to restart flights into Ukraine when the airspace reopens. Ryanair Holdings Plc has promised to base 30 aircraft there and help rebuild the country’s aviation industry once the war ends.
Opening the airspace and airports would provide AirBaltic with an additional key market, given that Ukraine travel demand is high, Gauss said. The carrier would also be able to cross Ukraine’s airspace to fly a more direct route south of Latvia to destinations such as Dubai and Greece.
Gauss said the airline hasn’t included the plan in its guidance because it’s unclear when Ukraine’s airspace will open again.
Ahead of a proposed initial public offering, AirBaltic is in advanced talks with a “large stock-listed airline,” Gauss said, without disclosing the airline and a time-line. It comes after Bloomberg News reported Deutsche Lufthansa AG was considering taking a stake in the Latvian airline.
The IPO was initially set to happen in the second half of this year, but Gauss said the earliest is now in the first half of 2025 because market conditions need to be right.
AirBaltic is among the airlines impacted by Pratt & Whitney engine issues under the wings of Airbus SE aircraft. The carrier currently has 16 aircraft on the ground for removal and inspections, and expects as many as 12 jets to be grounded next summer, Gauss said.
