airBaltic, the Latvian national carrier, is the leading airline in Eastern Europe, particularly in the Baltic region. Since its establishment in 1995, the airline has significantly expanded its aircraft fleet and route network. Today, it operates from four bases in the Baltic States and Finland, covering more than 70 destinations.

As the world's largest operator of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft, airBaltic has a dynamic approach to expanding its route network. But which destinations are served by airBaltic from its four operating bases?

Riga – airBaltic's central hub

The main airport for airBaltic is Riga International Airport (RIX). This means that airBaltic offers more flights to different places from RIX airport than from any of its other bases. According to the carrier, it operates a total of 75 direct flights to destinations across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East from its main operating hub in Latvia's capital. Here is the complete list of airBaltic's direct destinations from RIX airport:

Northern Europe Helsinki (HEL), Tampere (TMP), Turku (TKU), Kittila (KTL), Finland; Stockholm (ARN), Gothenburg (GOT), Sweden; Oslo (OSL), Trondheim (TRD), Bergen (BGO), Norway; Copenhagen (CPH), Billund (BLL), Denmark; Reykjavik (KEF), Iceland.
Eastern Europe Tallinn (TLL), Estonia; Palanga (PLQ), Vilnius (VNO), Lithuania; Prague (PRG), Chezchia; Budapest (BUD), Hungary; Bucharest (OTP), Romania; Belgrade (BEG), Serbia; Burgas (BOJ), Bulgaria; Dubrovnik (DBV), Split (SPU), Rijeka (RJK), Croatia; Tivat (TIV), Montenegro.
Western Europe Amsterdam (AMS), the Netherlands; Brussels (BRU), Belgium; Berlin (BER), Dusseldorf (DUS), Frankfurt (FRA), Hannover (HAJ), Munich (MUC), Stuttgart (STR), Germany; Salzburg (SZK), Vienna (VIE), Austria; Nice (NCE), Paris (CDG), France; Zurich (ZRH), Geneva (GVA), Switzerland; Aberdeen (ABZ), London (LGW), the UK; Dublin (DUB), Ireland.
Southern Europe Milan (MXP), Verona (VRN), Venice (VCE), Pisa (PSA), Rome (FCO), Naples (NAP), Catania (CTA), Olbia (OLB), Italy; Malta (MLA), Malta; Corfu (CFU), Athens (ATN), Rhodes (RHO), Heraklion (HER), Thessaloniki (SGK), Greece; Larnaca (LCA), Cyprus Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN), Bilbao (BIO), Malaga (AGP), Valencia (VLC), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Tenerife (TFS), Gran Canaria (LPA), Spain; Istanbul (IST), Turkey.
Middle East Dubai (DXB), the United Arab Emirates; Tel Aviv (TLV), Israel.
Africa Marrakesh (RAK), Morocco
CIS countries Yerevan (ELN), Armenia; Batumi (BUS), Georgia; Baku (GYD), Azerbaijan; Tbilisi (TBS), Georgia.

It is worth noting that the list of airline destinations slightly shrunk after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. airBaltic was forced to cease flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Kaliningrad due to the EU sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, as a result of airspace closures in Ukraine, the carrier halted all its services to Kyiv and Odessa. However, the airline said it would reopen all Ukrainian routes once it is safe to do so.

Nevertheless, Latvia's national carrier has been busy with its route network expansion. In October 2022, airBaltic announced 18 new destinations for their 2023 summer schedule. With the further route network expansion, Latvian carrier airBaltic surpassed the network that it was operating before the pandemic.

airbaltic airbus a220-300 latvia livery
Photo: airBaltic

Interestingly, airBaltic does not offer any flights to destinations in Poland. The airline suspended its flights between Riga (RIX) and Warsaw (WAW) during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and has not resumed them since. Currently, most of the direct flights between RIX airport and WAW airport are operated by LOT Polish Airlines or under the codeshare agreement between airBaltic and LOT.

airBaltic's direct destinations from Tallinn

Tallinn Airport (TLL) in Estonia is the second-largest operating base of the Latvian flag carrier, with 17 direct destinations across key European cities.

Northern Europe Copenhagen (CPH), Denmark; Oslo (OSL), Norway.
Eastern Europe Dubrovnik (DBV), Split (SPU), Croatia; Riga (RIX), Latvia; Vilnius (VNO), Lithuania.
Southern Europe Heraklion (HER), Rhodes (RHO), Greece; Malaga (AGP), Spain.
Western Europe Amsterdam (AMS), the Netherlands; Brussels (BRU), Belgium; Berlin (BER), Munich (MUC), Germany; London (LGW), the UK; Nice (NCE), Paris (CDG), France; Salzburg (SZG), Austria.

13 destinations from Vilnius

airBaltic flies to a total of 13 destinations directly from its neighboring hub at Vilnius International Airport (VNO) in Lithuania. This is airBaltic’s third-largest operating base, and here is the list of the airline’s all direct destinations from VNO airport:

Eastern Europe Dubrovnik (DBV), Croatia; Riga (RIX), Latvia; Tallinn (TLL), Estonia.
Southern Europe Heraklion (HER), Greece; Malaga (AGP), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Spain.
Western Europe Amsterdam (AMS), the Netherlands; Brussels (BRU), Belgium; Berlin (BER), Hamburg (HAM), Munich (MUC), Germany; Nice (NCE), Paris (CDG), France.

Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today.

Destinations from airBaltic’s latest hub – Tampere

Tampere-Pirkkala Airport (TMP) in Finland is airBaltic's newest hub, which opened in May 2022. Currently, airBaltic operates eight direct flights from its first hub outside the Baltic region.

Let’s take a look at the direct destinations it operates:

Northern Europe Copenhagen (CHP), Denmark;
Eastern Europe Riga (RIX), Latvia;
Southern Europe Malaga (AGP), Spain; Milan (MXP), Italy; Rhodes (RHO), Greece;
Western Europe Amsterdam (AMS), the Netherlands; Munich (MUC), Germany; Nice (NCE), France.
An airBaltic A220 painted in Lithuanian flag colors
Photo: Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock

Since opening its fourth operating base, airBaltic has added two more destinations to the existing six. It seems that the new base is gaining momentum in opening new destinations from Finland. Commenting on the decision to open a new base in Tampere, airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss told Simple Flying:

"We identified six airports as potential bases, and the one we picked was Tampere. Here we serve with aircraft that may be different from what other carriers, especially our local competitors, will do.

“We are serving frequency to connecting hubs. We ensure connectivity rather than having a leisure product. We have the hybrid service business class and an ultra-low-cost economy in the back."

Check out all the latest European aviation news here

  • airBaltic A220
    airBaltic
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    BI/BTI
    Airline Type:
    Hybrid Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Riga International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1995
    CEO:
    Martin Gauss
    Country:
    Latvia