Furthermore, the airports at both our bases in Riga and Vilnius enjoyed high growth in 2005. Riga performed particularly strongly, with the number of passengers growing by over 77% (from 1.1 to 1,9 million).

This extraordinary development was made possible because by changes in Latvian aviation policy and a revised system of charges at Riga Airport, introduced in 2004. On March 15, 2006 the Latvian Minister of Transport, Ainars Šlesers, resigned. During his time in office from 2004 to 2006, Minister Šlesers helped to bring about changes in Latvian aviation policy, which were instrumental in making this growth in the market possible and which have considerably supported airBaltic’s development.

The welcoming of low–cost carriers by the Ministry at Riga Airport has not made our lives easier, but the reduction of charges at Riga Airport has given the company a basis for future growth. Minister Slesers also actively promoted the development of destinations in the Former Soviet Union, which forms a substantial part of our strategy. At airBaltic, we have truly appreciated his active support for the  development of air traffic to and from Riga.

In line with our strategy, we will continue to improve connections to Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia, in co–operation with the national airlines of these countries.

On March 20, 2006 we signed a code–share agreement with Aeroflot covering flights to and from Moscow. This code–share will give our passengers the opportunity to use both Aeroflot and airBaltic flights. On most days of the week, there will be double daily flights between Moscow and Riga. This will also improve the possibility for transfer beyond Moscow to destinations in Russia and the former Soviet Union or beyond Riga to Western European destinations.

Ukraine and Georgia do not require visas for EU citizens, so without much hassle you can take a trip to exciting places in Ukraine such as Odessa and the Crimea, or Tibilisi  - the capital of Georgia.

Have a nice flight!

Bertolt Flick
President &CEO