(Bloomberg) — Air Baltic dismissed longtime Chief Executive Officer Martin Gauss following a vote of no confidence from the Latvian state, the airline’s main shareholder.
The Latvian airline made the decision after reviewing 2024 financial results and plans for an initial public offering, the Latvian Transport Ministry said Monday in a statement. Chief Operations Officer Pauls Calitis will serve as interim CEO, the ministry said in the statement.
“It is important for me to see results,” Minister of Transport Atis Svinka said in the statement. “Air Baltic is a company of national importance, and it must be able to independently develop and adapt to external conditions.”
The last few years have been difficult for the Latvian airline. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended its plans to serve as a hub for flights east, engine trouble grounded part of its fleet and financial issues have led to high borrowing costs. The turmoil already cost the head of the supervisory board and a previous transport minister their jobs this year.
Earlier in 2025, Deutsche Lufthansa AG agreed to acquire a convertible share representing a 10% holding in Air Baltic for €14 million ($15.3 million). The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Lufthansa will be able to exchange its convertible shares into ordinary stock at the time of an IPO.
Air Baltic said in September that it planned to raise as much as €300 million in an IPO. Gauss had served as CEO since 2011. His plans for an IPO, dating back to before 2018, have repeatedly been delayed by external and operational setbacks.
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