airBaltic (BT, Riga) has announced it will resume domestic Latvian flights during the second quarter of the current year.
In a statement, airBaltic said 3x weekly flights from Riga to the west Latvian city of Liepaja would commence on May 16 using Dash 8-400 equipment. The carrier last plied the route back in 2009 when the global economic crisis forced its termination.
One of three international airports in Latvia, Liepaja International Airport was closed to commercial traffic in September 2014 for extensive runway and terminal upgrade works. Although it subsequently reopened in May 2016, traffic was restricted to charter flights until it could secure its operational certificate.
“Since the commencement of Liepaja Airport reconstruction, the resumption of regular flights has been a highly anticipated event for the residents of the city, especially entrepreneurs," Uldis Sesks, the Chairman of the Liepaja City Council, said. "Before the airport was closed for reconstruction, it served nearly 45,000 passengers and 2,700 aircraft, but I am confident that with today's possibilities in the city, soon we will be able to reach even better results.”
