newstodate.aero

Jan 23, 2023 (newstodate): Starting from this year's summer schedule with the first flight on April 2, 2023, the Latvian carrier airBaltic is back on the route connecting Riga and Istanbul Airport with four weekly rotations.
   The route was opened by airBaltic on May 1, 2005, as airBaltic's 22nd direct route from Riga and offering two weekly rotations. Frequencies were later increased to seven weekly flight but were then reduced to two weekly rotations  - and eventually airBaltic pulled out from its only route to Turkey with the last flight on May 26, 2014.
   In the meantime, airBaltic was facing stiff competition as Turkish Airlines launched flights on the route from April 19, 2006, and this eventually led to airBaltic's decision.
   -We are seeing market demands declining on this route, also due to the stiff competition from Turkish Airlines in Latvia as well as in the two other Baltic markets, said Janis Vanags, then airBaltic VP Corporate Communications.  
   -Being a network carrier, we are focused on generating transfer traffic through our hub at Riga Airport, so we react swiftly and flexibly to any changes in market situation in order to allocate capacity to where it is warranted by the markets.
   As Riga Airport is losing its key asset as a transfer point due to the loss of the Russian and Belarus markets, the situation has once again changed to benefit point-to-point traffic.