At the beginning of October 2025, the Latvian airline airBaltic marks the 30th anniversary of the route between its home base in Riga, Latvia, and Helsinki, Finland. This was the airline’s second-ever direct service, following the first commercial flight from Riga to Stockholm, Sweden, on October 1, 1995.

Mantas Vrubliauskas, VP Network Management at airBaltic: “Over the past three decades, our flights between both capitals have strengthened ties between Latvia and Finland for both business and leisure travel, contributing to the growth of both economies. Finland is one of our largest markets, and we aim to continue expanding in the country while providing reliable connectivity. We would like to express our gratitude to our long-term partner Finavia for their cooperation over the years and for supporting airBaltic’s growth.”

Petri Vuori, Senior Vice President responsible for route development at Finavia: “The route from Riga to Helsinki Airport is airBaltic’s historic first route in Finland. airBaltic is an important partner for us, and we are delighted that the airline’s route network and presence at Finavia airports have strengthened since then. In March, we will once again celebrate a new route as airBaltic launches a connection from Riga to Oulu Airport.”

airBaltic operates up to four daily flights between Riga and Helsinki at convenient times, offering passengers flexible options for travel between the two cities or for seamless connections via Latvian capital to over 80 destinations in the airline’s network.Since the first flight on this route in October 1995, airBaltic has carried more than three million passengers and operated over 62 thousand flights between the two cities.

Today, airBaltic flies to four destinations in Finland – Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, and Kittilä – and, starting March 29, 2026, the airline will introduce a direct service between Riga and Oulu. This extensive network provides strong connectivity between Latvia and Finland and, with a single stop in Riga, the largest hub in the Baltics, connects Finland to airBaltic’s wide network across Europe and beyond.

Over the past 30 years, airBaltic has evolved into a globally respected carrier. Now the airline is connecting the Baltic States to 80 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region, providing essential infrastructure and global connectivity for the region. A complete schedule of airBaltic flights and tickets are available on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com.