"airBaltic" requests permission to terminate the execution of six A220 lease agreements and plans further fleet reduction

The Latvian national airline "airBaltic" wants to terminate six lease agreements for "Airbus A220-300" aircraft as part of the financial restructuring process initiated in the USA and plans to further reduce its fleet by returning additional aircraft and surplus engines, according to documents submitted to the U.S.

Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. "airBaltic" has requested the court to allow the termination of the lease agreements for six aircraft and to approve the procedure for returning these aircraft to the lessors. All six aircraft are "Airbus A220-300", located at Riga Airport, and "airBaltic" requests that the termination of the further execution of these lease agreements takes effect on November 17 of this year.

The application pertains to aircraft with registration numbers YL-CSI, YL-ABD, YL-ABE, YL-ABF, YL-BTC, and YL-BTD. "airBaltic" indicates that prior to the start of the financial restructuring process, it conducted a comprehensive assessment of long-term fleet and equipment needs together with consultants.

As a result, the company concluded that these six aircraft are no longer necessary for future operations and do not fit into the company's fleet or business plan, and the terms of their lease agreements exceed current market rates for comparable aircraft. In this application, "airBaltic" requests permission to terminate only the further execution of the lease agreements for the six listed aircraft. If the company later wishes to terminate the lease of additional aircraft or engines, it will require separate court approval.