AirBaltic to Ax Tartu-Riga Flights, Blames Airport
Latvian national airline AirBaltic announced on July 8 that it will be discontinuing its Tartu-Riga route at the end of the month, a move that will significantly curtail travel options to and from Estonia's second largest city.
The airline cited what it called the low level of service provided by Tartu Airport as the explanation for its decision to cut the route. It pointed specifically to an incident on July 3 when one air traffic controller's calling in sick effectively shut down the airport.
"Despite the popularity of AirBaltic's flight, Tartu airport has not been able to guarantee a high standard of service. This week's incident with missing controllers in the tower was a repeated one. AirBaltic is offering the highest standard of services to its customers, and cannot accept more cancellations in Tartu, just because the airport is not functioning as it should be. Our customer is our priority," the airline's Vice President of Corporate Communications Jānis Vanags said in a statement.
The flights will be discontinued effective August 1. AirBaltic has said that it will provide alternatives to passengers booked on flights that will be affected.
In July 2009, the Latvian airline became the first to offer an international flight from Tartu Airport. With the cancellation of the route, the only regular flights to the city will be the Tallinn-Tartu service provided six times per week by Estonian Air.
Steve Roman