airBaltic plans to make 300 pilots and cabin crew redundant

Latvian airline airBaltic plans to make approximately 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew members redundant as part of a workforce reduction linked to its planned flight schedule and route network for 2027. The airline confirmed the figures to Latvian public broadcaster LSM.lv on Wednesday, October 28, although the final number of affected employees may change following the ongoing assessment process.

The planned redundancies will affect pilots at all three of airBaltic’s bases in Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. For cabin crew, the reductions will primarily affect the Riga base, where the airline says there is a surplus of staff, while additional crew members are needed in Vilnius and Tallinn. Where vacancies are available, Riga-based cabin crew will be offered the opportunity to continue working at the other bases.

The Latvian Aviation Trade Union (LAA) has raised concerns about the transparency of the selection criteria and the terms offered to employees considering voluntary departures. The union argues that the process has not adequately addressed its concerns and has called for further discussions, including consideration of part-time employment and unpaid leave.

AirBaltic maintains that the selection criteria were agreed following several rounds of consultations with trade unions and take into account length of service, professional qualifications and other factors related to job performance. The airline initially estimated that between 500 and 700 employees across its Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius bases could be affected by the wider restructuring process. The currently announced figure of around 300 redundancies specifically concerns pilots and cabin crew.

Source: LSM.lv / Latvian Television, October 28, 2026.