airBaltic files for legal protection

airBaltic, the Latvian national airline, filed for legal protection on September 21st, and submitted a plan to the court to continue operations. The two main shareholders of the airline, the Latvian government ( which owns a 52.6% share), and Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS), the company owned by the airline’s president and CEO Bertolt Flick (47.2%), failed to agree on a capital injection to save the loss-making airline. According to a statement from Flick, the government  has “neglectfully and repeatedly delayed any decisions over the capital increase. In order to exit the stalemate, BAS agreed to all government conditions on September 16. On September 20, the government again failed to take a decision to participate in any capital increase, or to allow BAS to increase the capital unilaterally, but suddenly and surprisingly announced potential sale of its shares in the airline.”