New Riga-Abu Dhabi service to launch

  • 2013-10-13
  • From wire reports

RIGA  - A new Riga-Abu Dhabi direct flight service will be launched later this year. AirBaltic and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Etihad Airways announced that the new service will start running on Dec. 16.

Subject to regulatory approvals, airBaltic will operate the new four weekly return flights.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic, said: “We are delighted to link Latvia and the UAE, and improve our service for the customer by substantially reducing the travel time between the two capitals and to destinations beyond. Our code-share and interline cooperation will offer convenient connections to passengers traveling via Abu Dhabi to and from key destinations in Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.”

The UAE is one of Latvia’s main trading partners in the Gulf region. In 2012, Latvia’s exports to the UAE reached 72 million euros, 102 percent up on 2011, and imports from the UAE to Latvia amounted to 4.1 million euros, up 44 percent on 2011.

Latvia’s main exports to the UAE are machinery and electronics (66 percent), food products (14 percent), vehicles (6 percent), woodwork (5 percent) as well as chemical products and pharmaceuticals (2 percent).