Three decades after its first Saab turboprop lifted off from Riga, airBaltic is marking its 30th anniversary with a network that has turned the Baltic capitals into some of Europe’s most dynamic small hubs. Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn now anchor a web of routes that stretches from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic coast to the Caucasus, positioning the airline as both a regional lifeline and an increasingly visible player in European aviation.
From Single Saab to Regional Powerhouse
AirBaltic’s story begins in 1995, when the newly independent Baltic region needed a modern, reliable air link to the rest of Europe. Established on August 28 of that year as a joint venture between the Latvian state and Scandinavian Airlines, the carrier launched its first commercial service on October 1, 1995, with a 33 seat Saab SF340 connecting Riga and Stockholm. At the time, Riga was still a modest airport, and the Baltics were only beginning to reconnect to global markets after decades of isolation.
Growth in those early years was gradual, but purposeful. Within five years, airBaltic was serving eight destinations from Riga and had carried its first million passengers. New aircraft types, including the AVRO RJ70 and later the Boeing 737, allowed the airline to push further into Western and Eastern Europe, turning Riga into a genuine transfer point rather than merely a local gateway. Direct sales via the airline’s website and the launch of an in flight magazine signaled an ambition to act like a major flag carrier, even while operating from a small home market.
Today the scale is strikingly different. AirBaltic has transported more than 65 million passengers and completed over one million flights since its founding. The airline now operates a single type fleet of around 50 Airbus A220 300 aircraft, one of the youngest fleets in Europe, and flies more than 80 destinations on over 130 routes from its bases in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Tampere and seasonally Gran Canaria. For a region of just six million people, that level of connectivity is transformative.
Riga: The Beating Heart of Baltic Connectivity
Riga remains the undisputed heart of airBaltic’s operation and the primary engine of connectivity for the wider region. From its main hub at Riga Airport, the airline offers more than 130 routes, connecting the Latvian capital to cities across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus. Carefully timed waves of arrivals and departures allow passengers from across the Baltics and Scandinavia to connect smoothly through Riga to onward destinations.
The hub’s evolution is visible in recent schedules. For the winter 2024 and 2025 seasons, airBaltic has added or expanded services from Riga to destinations such as Innsbruck, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Madeira and Faro, reflecting the growing appetite for winter sun and ski travel from Northern Europe. At the same time, the airline has steadily increased frequencies on high demand business and leisure routes, including a dense schedule to Amsterdam, one of Europe’s most important long haul gateways.
Riga’s role has been further underlined as some foreign carriers scale back operations. Cuts in capacity by low cost rivals to and from the Latvian capital have, in practical terms, reinforced airBaltic’s status as the primary carrier serving the city. For travelers in Latvia, but also for passengers originating in nearby regions, the airline’s network from Riga now offers not only point to point links, but also a credible alternative to connecting through the continent’s largest mega hubs.
Vilnius: A Growing Base in a Competitive Market
While Riga is the historic home of airBaltic, Vilnius has evolved from a spoke to a genuine base in its own right. The Lithuanian capital is one of the airline’s designated home cities, with an expanding roster of direct routes designed to give travelers in Lithuania better access to the rest of Europe without backtracking through Riga or another hub.
In recent and upcoming seasons, airBaltic has announced multiple new services from Vilnius, including links to southern European leisure favorites such as Rhodes, Valencia and Ibiza, as well as city destinations like Prague and Chisinau. Additional routes to Tel Aviv and Tirana underline Vilnius’s role as a launchpad not just to the European Union, but also to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. Alongside these new destinations, increased frequencies on established routes are gradually turning Vilnius into a more robust mini hub with viable same day connections.
This growth is occurring in a competitive market where low cost carriers and neighboring hubs in Warsaw and Riga are all vying for Lithuanian passengers. AirBaltic’s strategy has been to pair schedule breadth with product upgrades: Airbus A220 aircraft, free high speed internet via SpaceX Starlink across the fleet, and a choice between business and economy cabins on all flights. The result is that Vilnius based travelers increasingly see airBaltic not only as a feeder to Riga, but as their first choice for direct European travel.
Tallinn: Northern Gateway and Strategic Outpost
To the north, Tallinn serves as airBaltic’s Estonian base and a vital gateway between the Baltics, Scandinavia and the wider Nordic region. From Tallinn, the airline connects Estonia to major European capitals and key leisure destinations, but its role goes beyond simple point to point service. For travelers in Finland and Sweden, especially those living outside the largest metropolitan areas, Tallinn has become an attractive alternative connecting point thanks to convenient ferry links and short onward flights.
Recent network developments illustrate Tallinn’s rising profile. For the winter 2025 and 2026 season, airBaltic is adding new routes such as Tallinn to Madeira, catering to winter leisure demand from Estonia and neighboring markets. Frequencies on routes to cities like Amsterdam are also being increased, improving Tallinn’s connectivity to global long haul networks and strengthening its position as a regional node.
The expansion from Tallinn coincides with a period of heightened strategic attention on the Baltic Sea region. As political and security ties between the Baltic States, the European Union and NATO deepen, reliable air links have taken on added significance. New routes launched for summer 2026, including connections from Hamburg to Tallinn, will provide direct access between northern Germany and all three Baltic capitals, underscoring the city’s role as a bridge between the Baltics and Western Europe.
Thirty Years of Linking the Baltic Capitals
At the heart of airBaltic’s story is the simple but critical mission of connecting the Baltic capitals to one another. The airline has highlighted this during its anniversary year by marking milestones such as the 30th anniversary of its Riga to Vilnius route in January 2026. That link, once a modest regional service, has evolved into a high frequency corridor that underpins economic, political and cultural exchange between Latvia and Lithuania.
The Riga Vilnius route is emblematic of what airBaltic has achieved across its network. It offers fast, reliable jet service with schedules tailored for both day trip business travelers and leisure passengers connecting onward through Riga. Over time, this has provided Lithuanian travelers with quick access to the airline’s wider network, while also allowing Latvians to reach Vilnius’s growing technology and services sectors with ease. Tallinn enjoys similar connectivity to Riga and Vilnius, forming a tightly woven triangle of air links that would have been almost unimaginable three decades ago.
This intraregional network is more than a convenience. For small economies, efficient movement of people is a fundamental part of competitiveness. Regular flights between the Baltic capitals support everything from cross border commuting and higher education to regional tourism circuits that encourage visitors to see all three countries in a single trip. In effect, airBaltic’s services have helped shrink perceived distances within the Baltics at the same time as they have extended the region’s reach outward.
Innovation in the Sky: Fleet, Technology and Passenger Experience
AirBaltic’s connectivity story is closely tied to its fleet strategy and investment in passenger experience. Over the past decade, the airline has transitioned to a single type fleet of Airbus A220 300 aircraft, replacing older Boeing and turboprop models with a more fuel efficient, comfortable and versatile jet. The A220’s economics have been central to the carrier’s ability to sustain thinner routes from the Baltic capitals, while still offering competitive fares and year round service on many seasonal markets.
In parallel, airBaltic has positioned itself as a technology forward airline. By 2025 it had become the first European carrier to introduce high speed in flight broadband powered by SpaceX Starlink, and it now offers free connectivity across its A220 fleet. For travelers flying to or from Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn, this means that a regional flight can double as productive work time, a streaming session or simply a way to stay connected with friends and family in real time.
On the ground and in the cabin, the airline has adopted a hybrid service model. Passengers can choose between economy and a full service business class that includes priority services and a more premium onboard offering. This allows the same route, whether between two Baltic capitals or from Riga to a sun destination, to cater to a spectrum of travelers, from cost conscious tourists to corporate travelers connecting to long haul flights in hubs such as Amsterdam or Dubai.
Summer 2026 and Beyond: A Network Still Expanding
The 30th anniversary finds airBaltic looking forward rather than merely celebrating the past. For the summer 2026 season, the airline has announced an expanded program of more than 110 routes across its bases, representing close to double digit growth compared with the previous summer. New routes from Riga to cities such as Aberdeen, Belgrade and Yerevan are scheduled to begin, alongside additional services from Vilnius and Tallinn that reinforce the three capitals’ status as entry points to the broader Baltic region.
Seasonal long weekend routes from cities like Aberdeen to Riga are especially noteworthy. They reestablish and deepen links between secondary cities in Western Europe and the Baltic hub, offering travelers direct access not only to Latvia’s capital but also to onward flights throughout the region. From the perspective of the Baltic States, such routes bring in tourists, business travelers and diaspora communities while giving local residents more choice when heading abroad.
At the same time, winter schedules continue to emphasize a mix of sun, ski and city destinations. Services from Riga to Innsbruck, Madeira and Egyptian resorts, and from Tallinn and Vilnius to southern Europe, showcase an increasingly sophisticated network planning approach that uses the three capitals as flexible platforms for seasonal demand across the continent.
Challenges, Leadership Changes and Strategic Partnerships
The path to 30 years of connectivity has not been without turbulence. Like many airlines, airBaltic has grappled with macroeconomic shocks, shifting travel restrictions and supply chain issues linked to aircraft and engine availability. In some cases this has forced difficult decisions, such as the temporary cancellation of planned routes when aircraft were in short supply, or schedule adjustments triggered by maintenance delays.
Leadership has also evolved. After more than a decade under one chief executive, the airline entered a new chapter in 2025 as a change at the top signaled a fresh strategic approach. A new chief executive is set to assume full responsibilities from December 2025, inheriting an airline that is at once larger and more complex than at any point in its history. How airBaltic manages fleet growth, labor markets and competitive pressures in the next few years will help determine how far it can push its connectivity ambitions.
Another major development is the planned minority stake acquisition by Lufthansa Group. While regulatory and commercial details continue to be worked through, the partnership has the potential to anchor airBaltic more firmly within Europe’s wider aviation ecosystem. For Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn, closer ties with a leading European airline group could translate into deeper code share arrangements, better long haul connectivity via partner hubs, and increased resilience during economic cycles.
The Baltic Capitals at the Center of a Connected Future
As airBaltic celebrates three decades in the sky, Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn stand as far more than points on a route map. Together, they form a tightly knit triangle of connectivity that gives the Baltic States outsized visibility and accessibility on the European stage. From early days of modest turboprop links to today’s all jet network with free high speed inflight internet, the transformation is evident both in the numbers and in travelers’ day to day experience.
For residents of the Baltics, the airline’s growth has reshaped what is possible. Long weekend breaks to Mediterranean islands, same day business trips to Western European financial centers, and multi country journeys that take in all three Baltic capitals are now routine. For inbound visitors, the three cities function as interchangeable gateways to a region known for its culture, technology sectors and natural landscapes, with airBaltic’s schedule making it easy to combine them in a single itinerary.
Looking ahead, the next chapter will likely feature a blend of continued network expansion, deeper partnerships and further technological upgrades. Yet the core mission that defined airBaltic in 1995 remains much the same in 2026: provide reliable, efficient air links that keep the Baltic States plugged into the rest of Europe and the world, while ensuring that Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn continue to serve as the beating heart of Baltic travel.