PM: airBaltic cannot fly without extra state funding
The Prime Minister stated that the airline must present a realistic business plan, otherwise it will need additional state subsidies.
Prime Minister (Ministru prezidents) has stated that the national airline airBaltic is unable to operate without additional state funding. He emphasized that the government wants to see the company's business plan before making any decisions on further support.
Kulbergs criticized airBaltic's previous development goals, including plans to operate 100 aircraft and serve 10 million passengers annually, calling them overly ambitious and lacking sufficient economic justification. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the governance system of state-owned enterprises, noting that the state fails to provide adequate professional oversight.
Despite this, the Prime Minister acknowledged that airBaltic is strategically important for Latvia, but that cannot justify unlimited state financing. He has requested Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis to submit the business plan to the government for evaluation by the end of this month.
"We will see, but I think airBaltic is not capable of flying without extra financial support," Kulbergs added.
