airBaltic Axing A220s and Cutting Up To 700 Jobs

airBaltic is preparing to slash its workforce by a considerable margin, axing between 500 and 700 positions as it scales back to manage its Chapter 11 filing in the United States.

A reduction of this scale for the Latvian carrier, which employs close to 3,000, would therefore represent roughly 20% and cover employees across its home country, Lithuania, and Estonia.

The restructuring cannot wait, and the airline is making sweeping changes on the fly while remaining committed to continuing scheduled services as normal during this process.

airBaltic begins to cut its workforce

airBaltic announced on 5 October 2026 that its workforce would see changes, with employee bases in Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn all expected to see changes. Individual roles have not been decided, but the workforce will be reduced, and the airline is still analysing where the cuts will be made.

The changes reflect a different era. Previously, airBaltic had strong ambitions to grow its fleet to as many as 100 Airbus A220 jets and, with that, a stronger employee base, but that has now come crashing down after financial pressure mounted.

The airline, which is finalizing its restructuring across the company, expects final decisions by mid-October. To reduce its workforce, the airline will not only pursue compulsory redundancies but also cut hours for existing employees.

With nothing definitive, the figure of up to 700 that has been broadcast is something airBaltic confirms it has yet to lock down. Ultimately, during this consultation process, the airline will finalise the best decisions to help it navigate this turbulent period and, in doing so, determine how many employees must be axed.

airBaltic’s reduction in flying, but not suspension, is the first and clearest signal that pilots and cabin crew will be affected, with flying activity dropping and available hours also reducing. However, rather than making everyone redundent, the airline may reach new agreements with certain employee groups.

Chapter 11 pushes airBaltic to cut its operations

The decision to reduce up to 700 jobs across the airline follows the 14 September 2026 decision to enter voluntary Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court. This move paves the way for a court-supervised restructuring that lets airBaltic keep flying despite its financial hardships while reorganizing debt and its broader business.

Analysts had argued that airBaltic was chasing a future it couldn’t secure, with the final nail in the coffin coming in the months before the filing, when the Latvian government said it would no longer inject funds into a fundamentally flawed business model.

After the government’s revelation, airBaltic pushed to reorganise, restructure, and implement new strategies, but the Chapter 11 filing was the most revealing, as competition, fuel pressures, and rising operating costs over the years have hurt the business.

Beyond employees, airBaltic, whose fleet is concentrated on the Airbus A220, will also dramatically reduce its fleet and halt growth. By the end of 2026, it will have approximately 36 jets, down from 54, and its gradual rebuild will only reach 40 aircraft by 2031, an increase of four aircraft in the next five years.