airBaltic carried 1.6 million passengers last year, up by a fifth on the Covid-19 disrupted number for 2020.

In 2021, the airline performed 23,440 flights from the three Baltic states.

Martin Gauss, chief executive of airBaltic, said: “In 2021, we focused on providing efficient connectivity to and from the Baltic region.

“We have added important destinations for both leisure and business traffic to our route network, which have been in high demand among our passengers.

“The opening of our new base in Tampere, Finland this spring will open even more connectivity opportunities in the Nordic region.”

He added: “Connectivity is at the core of what we do, and it makes a crucial contribution to the Latvian economy.

“A large part of our passengers has entered Latvia for transit purposes, but for an even larger number of tourists Latvia has been the main destination.

“This has significantly helped to improve Latvia’s economic growth and recovery in sectors such as catering or hospitality. airBaltic has always grown together with people in the Baltic states and we strive to contribute to the society as much as possible.”