airBaltic bankruptcy filing reveals up to 25,000 creditors, largest claim from engine maker

Latvia's national airline airBaltic has disclosed in its filing with the US Bankruptcy Court that it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors. Both the company's assets and liabilities are separately estimated at between one and ten billion US dollars. The filing was submitted jointly with subsidiaries SIA Air Baltic Training and SIA Baltijas kravu centrs.

Largest creditors

Among the 30 largest unsecured creditors, aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney tops the list with a claim of $66.518 million. It is followed by state-owned Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre at $42.432 million, the Latvian state via the Transport Ministry at $20.067 million, and the State Revenue Service at $15.428 million. The list also includes Riga Airport, Eurocontrol, Shell Energy Europe, aircraft lessor Macquarie Aircraft Leasing Services, trust services provider Wilmington Trust SP Services, and Airbus unit Airbus Flight Hour Services — all remaining creditors' claims are below $3 million each.

Restructuring process

airBaltic has launched a debt restructuring process under US Chapter 11 rules, which shields the company from creditor claims while restructuring proceeds. The company stresses that Chapter 11 is not equivalent to Latvia's legal protection process. It states that flight schedules, ticket bookings and customer service will continue unchanged.

The airline has secured a binding commitment for €350 million in new financing at an interest rate of roughly 12% (SOFR +8%), arranged by Strategic Value Partners with participation from Barclays, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley and Oaktree Capital Management. This replaces a previously planned bridge financing of up to €257 million at 25% interest from bondholders. The process is expected to conclude by around June 2027, under supervision of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Financial results

Last year, airBaltic Group's revenue grew 4.2% to €779.344 million, while losses fell 2.7-fold to €44.337 million. The airline carried 5.2 million passengers, up 1% year-on-year. The Latvian state owns 88.37% of the company, Germany's Lufthansa holds 10%, with the remainder split among other investors.