Latvia’s national carrier airBaltic will commence flights from its hub in Riga to Ljubljana, Skopje and Pristina next May. Services on all three routes will be maintained twice per week with the Airbus A220-300 aircraft. It will mark the first time the three cities have been linked to Riga with a scheduled air service. Flights to Ljubljana and Skopje will be inaugurated on May 2, while services to Pristina will commence on May 4. During the 2024 summer season, airBaltic plans to add eleven new routes – seven from Latvia, two from Estonia, and two from Lithuania. Tickets for the new routes can now be purchased through the airline’s website.

Commenting on the network additions, airBaltic’s CEO, Martin Gauss, said, “When preparing for the next season, we always carefully evaluate the market situation and the passenger demand. This time, we have identified an opportunity to widen our network in Central and Southeastern Europe with connections to Baltic and Nordic countries. Therefore, we are glad to expand the airBaltic offering next summer with convenient direct flights to this region and also increase flight frequencies on our existing leisure and business routes”. Passengers flying from Ljubljana and Skopje to the Baltics primarily do so through LOT Polish Airlines via Warsaw, while those from Pristina opt to do fly with Austrian Airlines based on data from indirect passenger flow.

The development comes after the airline commenced seasonal operations from Riga to Belgrade and Tivat this summer, as well as from Tallinn to Dubrovnik and Split, all of which will be restored next year. airBaltic was the only carrier to apply for the Slovenian government’s public call last month aimed at improving the country’s air connectivity in return for subsidies. The state commission for the granting of aid determined that airBaltic meets all the set requirements. As a result, the new service will be subsidised and is the second route to be introduced as part of the government scheme, with the first to be launched next month by Luxair from Luxembourg. On the other hand, Skopje Airport recently said it was targeting better connectivity with primary airports across Europe, while Kosovo passport holders will be able to travel to most European Union member states visa free as of January 1, 2024, which is expected to increase demand for air travel.