airBaltic has confirmed that, by next summer, it expects to recruit 320 additional crew – 120 pilots and 200 cabin crew members

The Latvian airline plans to primarily rehire its former pilots who had to be released due to the pandemic and pilot academy graduates.

Martin Gauss, chief executive of airBaltic, said: “We are pleased to see a growing demand for travel and have launched various new destinations this year.

“In line with an increasing vaccination coverage worldwide and eased travel restrictions, we are ready to scale our flight operations again.

“That is why we have come to a decision to rehire our former employees and add new team members to our crew for the next summer season.”

He added: “In 2022, we also plan to receive eight additional brand-new Airbus A220-300 aircraft.

“By hiring additional flight crew now, we will continue our preparations for performing flights with a fleet of 40 aircraft which we expect to have by the end of 2022.”

In addition to pilots, the airline will be welcoming also experienced cabin crew members, as well as candidates with no prior experience in aviation.

The rehiring process will start this autumn and will proceed in stages until the beginning of summer next year.

Overall, airBaltic currently employs 1,366 people, including 200 pilots and 342 cabin crew.