RIGA - Latvia's national carrier airBaltic plans to launch direct flights between Riga and the Western coastal city of Liepaja from April 4, something the country hasn't seen since before World War II.
Transport Minister Ainars Slesers and airline managers reached the agreement during recent talks. Slesers' main argument was that the new route would help speed up the Western region's economical development and improve its appeal for investment.
"The aim is to ensure that people who come to Latvia know that they can fly to Kurzeme [Latvia's Western region]," said Slesers, emphasizing the necessity for such flights.
The transport minister also warned that "this will not be a commercial flight that brings airBaltic profit," and noted that the government and local authorities would have to support the venture. This will include reducing the fees Riga Airport collects from the national carrier.
AirBaltic planes will fly from Riga to Liepaja four times a week, according to the Transport Ministry. The flights will depart from Riga in the late evening and return early the next morning.
Furthermore, Slesers said that airBaltic intended to open a direct route to Ventspils, another coastal city, as well as to Daugavpils in the eastern part of the country.
AirBaltic currently does not serve any domestic flights, but flies from Riga and Vilnius to more than 20 cities in Europe.
The national carrier is doing especially well this year, having reported 103,124 passengers in the first two months, a 99 percent increase from early 2004.
Meanwhile the number of flights rose 66 percent to 2,831 in January-February, while the company's freight grew by 6 percent to 49 percent. AirBaltic made 1,384 flights last month, carrying 50,114 passengers - a significant increase from the year before.
In the first two months of this year airBaltic made 2,059 flights from the Riga Airport, serving 75,467 passengers, a 46 percent increase from last year. In February the carrier made 1,026 flights out of Riga with 37,113 passengers on board, a 43 percent growth year-on-year.
AirBaltic spokeswoman Vija Dzerve said that February's passenger growth was "unique as compared to the number of passengers carried during the same period in previous years."
She added that the comparatively low freight factor could be explained by airBaltic's additional capacity, after adding several Boeing planes to its fleet.
Founded in 1995, the airline belongs to the Latvian state (52.6 percent) and the Scandinavian airline SAS (47.2 percent).
Last year airBaltic carried 589,288 passengers and hopes to service one million this year.
