AirBaltic To Launch First Route To Africa

The carrier will begin flights to Marrakesh in the fourth quarter.

Latvia’s airBaltic will enter the African market later this year with service to Morocco.

The carrier will launch flights between the Latvian capital of Riga (RIX) and Marrakesh (RAK) from Oct. 31.

The route will be operated 2X-weekly with an Airbus A220-300.

AirBaltic said in a statement that Marrakesh is a “great gateway to the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara Deserts and offers plenty of places of interest.”

CEO Martin Gauss added: “We are excited to announce our first ever scheduled route to Africa. As the leading airline in the Baltics, we continue to build our network, adding more exciting leisure destinations.”

AirBaltic noted that flights from RIX to RAK will take 5 hours and 30 minutes.

The airline has said it hopes to carry some 3.3 million passengers in 2022—down from 5 million in 2019, when it carried the highest number of annual passengers in its 27-year history.