AirBaltic flüchtet sich unter US-Insolvenzrecht
Der Flugbetrieb soll weiterlaufen wie bisher, Kunden sollen von der Restrukturierung nichts merken
The Latvian airline and Lufthansa stakeholder AirBaltic has requested bankruptcy protection in the United States. The company voluntarily filed a Chapter 11 petition with a New York court, according to the majority-owned carrier, which holds ten percent of AirBaltic. Flight operations and customer services continued unabated. Chapter 11 allows companies to reorganize their finances under judicial supervision while the business continues.
The goal is to achieve a stronger and more sustainable capital structure, explained AirBaltic. To secure liquidity during the proceedings, the airline secured a new financing of 350 million euros. The company carefully examined available options, said the supervisory board chairman Andrejs Martinovs. The process provides a clear framework for agreements with creditors such as aircraft leasing providers under judicial supervision and with creditor protection.
The central priority is to keep flying and maintain Latvia's connectivity, stated Martinovs. The aim is to complete the process with a financially strengthened AirBaltic and a significantly reduced debt burden. Even the company's CEO Erno Hildén emphasized that business for passengers would run normally. "We fly, sell tickets, and plan our future flight plan," he said.
The move follows others such as SAS, United Airlines, or Delta Air Lines that have used the US process for their restructuring in the past. The company expects to complete the process by around June 2027.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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