Covington Helps airBaltic Secure EC Approval of EUR 45 Million State Aid Package

BRUSSELS–Covington advised airBaltic on the notification to the European Commission of a EUR 45 million capital injection by the Latvian government. The measure was approved under Article 107(2)(b) TFEU, allowing State Aid to compensate the damage caused by exceptional situations, such as the COVID-19 outbreak.

Starting in March 2020, Latvia, like all EU Member States and most countries around the world, implemented strict travel restrictions to address public health emergency caused by the pandemic. airBaltic suffered substantial operating losses and experienced a steep decline in traffic and profitability as a result of those travel restrictions. The approved aid will cover the losses suffered by airBaltic during the period between March 16 to June 15, 2020.

airBaltic is the national airline of Latvia and a major contributor to the Latvian economy. Its hub and spoke flight model connects Baltic countries with other European countries and the rest of the world.

The Covington team was led the by co-chair of the firm’s global competition team Johan Ysewyn, Sophie Bertin, and Carole Maczkovics and included Myrto Chatziantoniou.