airBaltic Named Among the World’s Safest Airlines for 2026 for Second Consecutive Year
The Latvian airline airBaltic announces that it has been named among the world’s top 50 safest airlines for the second year in a row by Airline Ratings, a global authority on airline news, passenger reviews, and safety evaluations. In its category, airBaltic improved its ranking, rising from 25th place in 2025 to 7th place in 2026.
Pauls Cālītis, Chief Operations Officer of airBaltic: “Safety is the foundation of every decision we make at airBaltic. This recognition by Airline Ratings reflects our safety culture, the professionalism of our teams, and our continued investment in training, modern aircraft, and operational discipline. Operating reliably in demanding winter conditions further demonstrate the robustness of our procedures. Being recognized among the world’s safest airlines for the second year in a row reflects our ongoing commitment to operational excellence and to earning our customers’ trust. We thank Airline Ratings for this recognition.”
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Originally published on 13 Jan
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During the international Industry Space Days 2026 event at the European Space Agency’s ESTEC facility in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) Group and the globally leading space consultancy Novaspace signed a cooperation agreement on the development of a concept for telecommunications innovation platform for Latvia to link the national connectivity sector with the international satellite industry. The initiative follows the successful ESA 5G/6G Non-Terrestrial Network Hub model and will explore Latvia’s potential role within this network.
Signing the agreement marks a pivotal step toward creating a hub for developing an internationally competitive telecommunications sector in Latvia. The hub will strategically bring LMT Group into the space industry and impact the emergence of a wider Latvia’s space innovation ecosystem in next-generation satellite technologies, products, and services tailored to commercial applications, resilient critical infrastructure, security, digitalization and green transition. Essentially, the hub will attract national and international cooperation, funding and talent.
The next generation of mobile communications is closely linked to the rapid growth of the space economy globally. The space infrastructure is already gradually enhancing terrestrial networks, and the 6G era of telecommunications will seamlessly link terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. The rationale for such development is efficient and resilient connectivity, especially essential in scenarios involving severe weather, power outages or physical infrastructure disruptions.
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Originally published on 22 Sep
Riga. The Latvian national airline airBaltic announces that it has received EUR 140 million as the first part of its previously announced EUR 350 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. The funds were made available following interim approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the U.S. Court) on September 16, 2026, as part of airBaltic’s financial reorganisation under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Together with cash generated from ongoing operations, the financing will support airBaltic’s day-to-day operations and financial reorganisation, as well as the implementation of the company’s new business plan.
Of the EUR 140 million received, approximately EUR 78.9 million will be used to repay existing obligations to Export Development Canada and Axiom Baltic Services. These obligations are secured by airBaltic aircraft, spare engines and a flight simulator. Following repayment, these assets will become available as collateral under the new DIP financing arrangements.
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Originally published on 21 Sep
NestAI, a European AI lab for defence, is opening an R&D centre in Latvia to build defence AI capability alongside the forces and industry operating on NATO’s Eastern Flank. The centre is the next step in NestAI’s growing Nordic and Baltic presence, following the company’s expansion to Sweden announced in August.
As NestAI builds its presence in Latvia, the company is developing the center into a team of 30 scientists and engineers, and has set an investment target of €10 million for the centre over the next few years. The announcement coincides with NestAI’s participation in the Riga Conference on 11 September 2026, where Peter Sarlin, NestAI Founder and Executive Chairman, will meet with Latvian government and academic representatives and speak on European defence AI.
“NestAI’s decision to establish an R&D centre in Latvia is a strategic investment in a sector with significant growth potential. The planned €10 million investment and 30 new jobs for scientists and engineers will bring together knowledge, technology and international cooperation in Latvia. Attracting projects of this kind demonstrates our ability to compete at European level for high-value-added investment,” says Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis.
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Originally published on 21 Sep
Saab has been entrusted to install and operate remote air traffic control for Stockholm-Västerås Airport for a period of 15 years. This means that air traffic in Västerås will be controlled from Saab’s Remote Tower Center (RTC) in Sundsvall.
This solution is already in operational use at several airports and is part of the ongoing technological development within the aviation industry, both in Sweden and globally. For Saab, the airport in Västerås will be the fifth airport to be operated from the RTC in Sundsvall to utilize this technology, in addition to Sundsvall-Timrå, Sälen, Örnsköldsvik and Linköping. The agreement comes into effect on January 1, 2028, and runs for 15 years. Saab will deliver a fully digitalized infrastructure to Stockholm-Västerås Airport, including the camera tower, a digital workstation for remote air traffic control, and meteorological services.
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Originally published on 21 Sep
50Hertz and NEPTUN SMULDERS Offshore Renewables (NSORe) have successfully concluded negotiations for the construction of an offshore converter station for the LanWin3 offshore grid connection project in the North Sea. With the signing of the contract, the way is now clear for the second major project whose key components are to be manufactured within NSORe’s production set-up, including NEPTUN shipyard in Rostock-Warnemünde and Smulders’ yard in Vlissingen. In June, 50Hertz had already awarded a billion-euro contract for the LanWin6 offshore grid connection system to the consortium NSORe and Siemens Energy. As with LanWin6, Siemens Energy will be responsible for supplying the high-voltage components for the LanWin3 project.
The volume for the contracts attributable to NSORe for the two offshore converter platforms amounts to approximately EUR 2.5 billion, the majority of which will be spent on production and services in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Stefan Kapferer, CEO of 50Hertz: “With our LanWin3 and LanWin6 projects, we are creating the conditions needed to securely integrate large volumes of offshore wind energy from the North Sea into the German power grid. As the client for 2 GW converter platforms, we require strong partners and robust industrial structures, both of which are available in Rostock-Warnemünde. With this second contract, we are further strengthening the entire value chain in the region and helping to advance the energy transition at sea. From a political perspective, the next step must be to further refine the Offshore Wind Energy Act to provide planning certainty and prevent delays in the construction of offshore wind farms.”
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Originally published on 19 Sep
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