Latvian national airline airBaltic is proud to announce that a continuously increasing number of employees from various departments have decided to change career paths and pursue their dreams of becoming pilots by enrolling in the airBaltic Pilot Academy. Over the past six years, nearly 30 employees have switched from their previous roles to studies in the Pilot Academy, reflecting the company’s commitment to fostering internal talent and promoting career development within the organization.
These employees come from a diverse range of departments, including IT, Cabin Crew, Pilot Academy Administration, Marketing, Safety, Ground Handling, Engineering, Crew Planning, and Maintenance. Among them, 24 are from Latvia and four are from foreign countries. Notably, eight of these future pilots are women, representing 28% of the internal applicants.
Out of the 28 employees in training, 11 have already successfully graduated and are now actively flying as pilots for the company. Additionally, five of them have become flight, theory, and simulator instructors, showcasing the expertise and dedication within airBaltic’s workforce.
Alīna Aronberga, SVP Human Resources at airBaltic: “Skilled and well-trained professionals are key to any airline’s success. We are thrilled to see more employees embracing new professional challenges by pursuing careers as pilots. This shift highlights their dedication and our commitment to fostering internal mobility through employee reskilling. With already 28 employees from various departments transitioning to pilot roles, we are strengthening company growth, ensuring continued operational success, and showcasing our innovative approach to talent development.”
There are 136 active students at the airBaltic Pilot Academy at the moment. Most of them are from the Baltic countries, however, there are students also from other EU countries such as Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Spain and Italy among others. Overall, more than 10% of airBaltic Pilot Academy students are female. As for now, 99 students, after graduating, have joined airBaltic.
More information about the Pilot Academy: www.pilotacademy.com.
airBaltic currently employs more than 2 500 professionals and is actively recruiting for various positions. The airline currently offers more than 30 open positions to attract over 100 new talents. For several years, airBaltic has been consistently recognized as the top employer in various nationwide and worldwide surveys. To find out more about job opportunities at airBaltic, please visit https://careers.airbaltic.com.
airBaltic operates more than 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere and, seasonally, Gran Canaria, offering connections to a wide range of destinations in the airline’s route network in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region. A complete schedule of airBaltic flights and tickets are available on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com
airBaltic in brief:
airBaltic (Air Baltic Corporation AS) is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 97.97% of the stock, while the rest of the shareholders hold 2.03%. airBaltic offers connections to more than 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus region. Over the last 28 years airBaltic has developed as a strong and internationally respected airline, which employs more than 2 500 employees. The airBaltic fleet consists of 47 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, making it one of the youngest fleets in Europe. The airline has received several international awards for excellence, innovative services and significant achievements. Skytrax has awarded airBaltic three years in a row as the best airline in its region. Furthermore, in 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) awarded airBaltic the Diversity and Inclusion Team Award. In 2023 the airline received the APEX Passenger Choice Award of Best Cabin Service in Europe. Additionally, in 2024 airBaltic was awarded with PROS AI Innovator Award for leveraging AI to drive transformative outcomes and optimize operations.
airBalticTraining, a subsidiary of airBaltic, is a training facility offering a wide range of aviation training services in its modern and purpose-built training centre in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 2010 and since then each year provides training to approximately 3 000 professionals from across the world – more than 1 500 pilots, almost 1 000 cabin crew members and several hundred of ground handlers, cargo agents, security personnel and others.
