airBaltic plans up to 23% staff cuts and fleet reduction to 36 aircraft

airBaltic will cut between 500 and 700 employees, representing a 17% to 23% reduction of its workforce, with the cuts to be finalised in the coming weeks and the new organisational structure defined by mid‑October. Formal negotiations with the Latvian aviation union are set to begin on 15 October.

The airline’s business plan also calls for shrinking its fleet from 54 to 36 aircraft by the end of the year. In September, airBaltic secured €140 million as part of a €350 million financing package, after reporting a 2025 net loss of €44.3 million on revenues of €779.3 million and carrying 5.2 million passengers.