Latvia’s national airline airBaltic plans to dismiss approximately 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew members who are still employed by the company, according to the Latvian Aviation Trade Union (LAA).
The union said airBaltic pilots and cabin crew would begin receiving information about whether they would retain their jobs from Saturday, 31 October.
All planned cabin crew job cuts will take place at the airline’s Riga base.
The figures do not include crew members who have already voluntarily left the company since the collective redundancy process began.
The union claims that airBaltic is using internal pilot and cabin crew performance rankings and an assessment methodology that have not been agreed upon with employee representatives.
According to the LAA, pilots were informed on 27 October that, as the airline’s fleet shrinks to 36 aircraft, approximately four out of five pilots would retain their jobs.
Cabin crew members were told the same day that approximately three out of four would remain employed.
The lists determining which employees will be dismissed are expected to be finalised on 28 October.
The union said the airline had informed employees that the selection criteria were established following discussions with trade unions.
However, the LAA stressed that those discussions only concerned removing certain criteria initially proposed by the company.
According to the union, no consultations took place regarding the final criteria, their relative weighting or the methodology used to apply them.
LAA Chairwoman Dace Kavasa said the union is calling on the company to abandon criteria it considers to contain subjective elements and to reach an agreement with employee representatives on redundancy conditions before implementing them.
The union also highlighted that some pilots who will no longer be directly employed by airBaltic are expected to continue working for the airline.
Citing documents from the US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the LAA said between 60 and 80 pilots are expected to be transferred to contracts arranged through a Swiss agency.
The union also noted that aircraft transferred to Belgrade continue to be serviced by cabin crew employed through a Serbian temporary employment agency.
Meanwhile, airBaltic cabin crew members employed under Latvian contracts face dismissal.
According to LAA estimates, this arrangement could involve up to 30 positions in 2026.
The union also raised concerns about the pilot assessment procedure.
Captains and first officers are assessed separately, meaning a first officer who has recently been promoted to captain could find themselves at the bottom of the captain ranking and face dismissal without being offered the opportunity to return to a first officer position.
Cabin crew members are also assessed separately according to their bases and positions.
The union pointed out that no cabin crew reductions are planned at the Tallinn and Vilnius bases, while all planned cabin crew cuts will affect the Riga base.
The LAA further stated that employees selected for dismissal will be offered two options.
They may either sign a mutual agreement terminating their employment, which would give them priority for a job interview when airBaltic resumes recruitment, or receive a formal termination notice from the employer.
Employees dismissed through employer-issued termination notices would not receive the same priority for future recruitment.
The union is calling on airBaltic to suspend employee assessments, resume consultations, provide the complete selection criteria and methodology in writing, and offer equal opportunities for future re-employment to all dismissed workers.
Consultations on the collective redundancy of pilots and cabin crew began on 3 September this year.
The airline submitted notifications to the employment authorities in Latvia and Estonia on 29 September.
According to the LAA, consultations concerning pilots and cabin crew were discontinued on 14 October, while individual meetings with employees are scheduled to begin on 31 October.
As previously reported, Latvia’s State Employment Agency (NVA) received notification of the planned collective redundancies on 29 September.
The LAA had previously asked the NVA to extend the collective redundancy notification period from 30 to 60 days.
However, the agency rejected the request.
After reviewing information submitted by both airBaltic and the union, the NVA found no grounds for an exceptional extension.
The agency previously explained that, under Latvia’s Labour Law, airBaltic could begin collective redundancies no earlier than 30 days after submitting the notification, meaning from 29 October.
Earlier, airBaltic announced that its business plan envisaged reducing operations, potentially affecting between 500 and 700 positions, or approximately 20% of its roughly 3,000 employees across Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn.
At the time, the airline stressed that the exact number of affected positions had not been determined and could change during the process.
It has also been reported that the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York granted final approval on 19 October for airBaltic’s debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing structure of up to 350 million euros.
The court also confirmed the transparency of the financing process, according to its final order signed on 20 October.
The approved financing arrangement consists of an initial tranche of 175 million euros, a second tranche of up to 125 million euros and a third tranche of up to 50 million euros.
On Monday, the court approved the remaining 35 million euros of airBaltic’s first DIP financing tranche.
The company had already received 140 million euros, and the decision means the entire first tranche of 175 million euros has now been approved.
AirBaltic used 78.925 million euros from the first DIP financing tranche to buy out eight Airbus A220 aircraft and seven engines.
Overall, airBaltic has secured binding commitments from lenders to provide up to 350 million euros in new DIP financing to support the airline’s liquidity and operations during the Chapter 11 proceedings.
The financing was arranged by SVP, with commitments from Barclays, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley, Oaktree Capital Management and Strategic Value Partners.
The interest rate is SOFR plus eight percentage points, currently equivalent to approximately 12%.
The financing arrangement also includes additional fees of up to 52.5 million euros.
Previously, airBaltic had planned to raise up to 257 million euros from bondholders at an annual interest rate of 25%, but that financing plan will no longer be implemented.
Chapter 11 protection shields airBaltic from creditor claims while its financial obligations are being restructured.
The airline has also stated that flights and customer services will continue as normal.
All flights will operate according to the planned schedule, existing tickets and reservations remain valid, and passengers can continue purchasing tickets and travelling with airBaltic as usual.
A reorganisation plan requiring court approval will be developed as part of the Chapter 11 process.
The proceedings are expected to conclude around mid-2027.
AirBaltic Group’s revenue increased by 4.2% last year compared with 2024, reaching 779.344 million euros.
Meanwhile, the group’s losses totalled 44.337 million euros, approximately 2.7 times lower than in 2024.
The airline carried 5.2 million passengers in 2025, representing a 1% increase compared with the previous year.
Last summer, Germany’s national airline Lufthansa became a shareholder in airBaltic.
Currently, the Latvian state owns 88.37% of airBaltic’s shares, Lufthansa holds 10%, and Aircraft Leasing 1, owned by Danish businessman Lars Thuesen, holds 1.62%.
The remaining 0.01% belongs to other shareholders.
The company’s share capital amounts to 41.819 million euros.