Lithuanian PM seeks to maintain flight routes as airBaltic cuts services

VILNIUS - Lithuania's prime minister said on Tuesday that the number of flight destinations must remain stable ahead of the country's upcoming European Union presidency, after Latvia's struggling national carrier airBaltic announced the suspension of three winter routes from Lithuania.

"It is vital for us to maintain an unchanged number of flight destinations, especially with the EU presidency approaching, and given that airBaltic serves a significant and important share of flights," Mindaugas Sinkevicius told reporters.

The Lithuanian prime minister could not confirm whether Lithuania would consider purchasing airBaltic shares, as previously suggested by Latvia. He said he could discuss the matter with the Latvian prime minister and Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas.

For the upcoming winter season, airBaltic will terminate flights from Vilnius to Berlin and Dubai, and from Palanga to Tenerife. The airline will also reduce frequencies between Vilnius and Tallinn.

The company said the decision was not linked to financial difficulties, noting that its route network is regularly reviewed based on demand, seasonality and market conditions.

Lithuanian Airports said all routes being cut by airBaltic would remain available via direct flights from Lithuania: the Vilnius-Berlin route will be served by Wizz Air, Flydubai will fly to Dubai, and airBaltic will continue to operate Tenerife flights from Vilnius.

"It is important to emphasize that other strong carriers, such as Finnair and LOT, operate in Lithuania and could take over part of the market to ensure proper connectivity," said Lukas Paskevicius, an aide to the Lithuanian transport minister.

According to Paskevicius, the Lithuanian minister will shortly meet with the management of Lithuanian Airports, whom Taminskas has instructed to prepare a specific action plan should airBaltic significantly reduce its flight volumes or withdraw from Lithuania.

In late July, the Lithuanian transport minister said there was no data suggesting airBaltic's withdrawal from Lithuania, but confirmed that a contingency plan was being prepared should the carrier reduce operations or exit the market.

Last year, Latvia's Ministry of Transport officially offered Lithuania and Estonia the opportunity to acquire a stake in airBaltic.