The government has done all the best possible airBaltic for preservation / day

The time covered by the State Audit Office is from 2020 to 2023 – at a time when the Cabinet was led by two JV politicians. From January 23, 2019 to September 15, 2022, the government was headed by Krišjānis Kariņš, and later he was replaced by Evika Siliņa, who is still the Prime Minister.

JV insists that the particular period from 2020 to 2023 was « complicated and the government’s agenda was very saturated and full of challenges. During this time, the government has done the « best possible » for the preservation of the Latvian national airline. « The conclusions of the State Audit Office must be analyzed to assess whether the government’s trust credit to the state capital company was not too high, » Rozentāle admitted.

In JV’s view, the management and financial control of the company has improved significantly during its heads. Among them, the shareholder has been demanding against the Council and the Board, and can be seen by decisions made. « The government is regularly informed and followed by the company’s financial position and plans on the stock exchange, » Rozentale said. JV believes that the government has proactive in all necessary preparations for the company to move towards the original public offer of the shares.

The Cabinet has made a number of decisions and attracted an investor, the JV positive contribution to airBaltic sees the party.

JV emphasizes that airBaltic is a strategically important company for the country, and its primary goal is now to ensure financial stability and independence, to raise private investor funds.

LETA has not yet managed to get Silina’s response to the SAO’s criticism.

As reported, the State Audit Office has concluded that the state has not followed the contribution of Covid-19 to recover airBaltic and has been operating more so far as « a wallet to make », rather than a sufficiently qualified and demanding owner of the capital company.

The Authority has carried out an inspection of the implementation of the recommendations in the audit of 2021 on national supervision over the investment made during the Covid-19 airBaltic.

Latvia’s total contribution to airBaltic accounts for EUR 545 million. Of this, the country invested a total of EUR 340 million in the Covid-19 crisis in the country in 2020-2022, thus increasing the state’s participation in the company from 80.05% to 97.97%.

The State Audit Office has concluded that no supervisory levels – MoU, airBaltic council, Cabinet of Ministers – have not been sufficiently taken, which would possibly contribute to the recovery of the public contribution.

The institution recalls that the country was initially committed to recovering the € 250 million allocated in airBaltic in the first phase. It was clearly expressed in both official documents and public statements by June 2023. According to the strategy approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2021, the recovery of the investment was planned in the IPO process, in which some state -owned shares would be sold, reducing participation to 51%.

However, as the State Audit Office concluded, the strategy lacked a specific action plan. This is evidenced by the fact that the approved strategy has never been revised, although the change was significant, including the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aircraft engines problems and multiple changes to airBaltic’s business plans. Meanwhile, the state invested another EUR 90 million.

In August 2024, the government decided to reduce airBaltic’s share capital by € 571 million, which the company considers a significant prerequisite for the successful implementation of the IPO. Following this decision, officials and airBaltic representatives « publicly stated that the recovery of the investment had never been planned, or stressed that state aid had already been refunded through taxes and economic contributions, » the State Audit Office noted.

On the other hand, the MoU has still not established a system of management of companies that would allow the country to implement the strategic objectives of the sector and to promote rational use of resources. The ministry still does not receive significant information to fully implement the airBaltic’s supervision (eg employees’ salaries, capital investments), the State Audit Office said.

In the assessment of the State Audit Office, the MoU responds insufficiently to significant information when it comes to its disposal. The Ministry does not fully participate in the determination of financial and non -financial goals.

Currently, the Latvian state owns 97.97% of airBaltic shares, while financial investor, Danish businessman Lars Nuten, owned by Aircraft Leasing 1 – 2.03%.

In 2024, the airBaltic Group worked with audited losses of EUR 118,159 million, as opposed to profit a year earlier, while the Turnover of the Group increased by 11.9%compared to 2023, reaching EUR 747,572 million.