RIGA, Aug 10 (LETA) - Latvian national airline airBaltic will not provide regular flights to Liepaja for the time being, Latvian Television reports.

Although air traffic to Riga would be important for Liepaja, airBaltic has found it difficult to fill the flights with passengers even during special events. In the summer, 12 test flights between Riga-Liepaja and Riga were organized during the Latvian leg of the World Rally Championship and the Summer Sound festival, but it was still not possible to fill the planes.

Augusts Zilberts, airBaltic spokesman, points out that the passenger load on these flights was on average slightly more than 50 percent and only one aircraft was full - on August 1.

Liepaja hoped that such regular flights would make it easier to attract new foreign investors, as it is important for investors to be able to reach the city quickly from all over the world when choosing where to invest.

As reported, last year, airBaltic carried 4.536 million passengers, 35.7 percent more than in 2022, and operated more than 44,000 flights, 18.3 percent more than the year before.

In 2023, airBaltic's audited turnover was EUR 664.289 million, up 33.2 percent on 2022, and the company made a profit of EUR 33.852 million, compared to a loss the year before.

The Latvian state owns 97.97 percent of airBaltic's shares, while the financial investor, Danish businessman Lars Thuesen's Aircraft Leasing 1, owns 2.03 percent.