Lithuania’s prime minister said Tuesday that maintaining the country’s number of direct air connections is important ahead of its presidency of the European Union Council, after Latvian carrier airBaltic announced plans to suspend three routes from Lithuania this winter.
“It is important for us to maintain the number of flight destinations unchanged, especially as our EU presidency is approaching, and airBaltic as a company operates a significant and important share of flights,” Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told reporters after meeting with the president.
Sinkevičius said he could not say whether Lithuania would consider buying a stake in airBaltic, as Latvia has previously proposed.
“I don’t have an answer today as to whether and to what extent the government could or would consider contributing to the Latvian company’s operations,” he said.
The prime minister said he would likely discuss the issue with his Latvian counterpart and planned to consult with Transport Minister Juras Taminskas before then.
