EC okays €45 million state investment in AirBaltic

The European Commission (EC) has approved the investment of 45 million euros in the capital of AirBaltic by the Latvian government, according to information published December 22 by AirBaltic, Report informs.

The EC has therefore accepted the investment of half of the amount previously requested by the Latvian government to compensate for the losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and to support the management of the economic crisis.

In August 2021, the Cabinet, as a majority shareholder of the Latvian national airline AirBaltic, approved the investment of 90 million euros in the equity capital of AirBaltic.

The rest of the investment still needs to be approved by the EC, AirBaltic said in a statement.

AirBaltic said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of passengers transported by the airline decreased by 73% in 2020 and that the airline’s activities were significantly affected.