«airBaltic» First to Implement Sustainable Flight Approaches at Riga Airport

Alise Briede | 2021.08.13

As of August 12th, airBaltic has become first to fly the new Required Navigation Performance with Authorization Required (RNP AR) high-precision flight approaches at Riga Airport with the company’s modern Airbus A220-300 aircraft fleet. These procedures enable more efficient arrival routes and contribute to saving fuel, further cutting CO2 and noise emissions.

Pauls Cālītis, airBaltic Chief Operations Officer: “RNP AR requires special aircraft equipment, training for pilots as well as authority permission. We received the permission from Latvian CAA and also played an essential role in support Latvijas Gaisa Satiksme in the development of these procedures. Our Airbus A220-300 fleet is equipped with the RNP AR technology, the crews have undergone special training and we are committed to support the environment and with-it the efficiency within the Latvian airspace and in particular at our home base at Riga Airport.”

Already in 2014, airBaltic in cooperation with consortium partners AirbusProSky and Latvijas Gaisa Satiksme completes the AMBER project under the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE). The project enabled operation of Europe’s first green flights for turboprop aircraft by introducing a satellite-based approach and served a foundation for future efficiency projects. As a result, estimated annual impact amounted to 1100 tons less CO2 and 350 tons less fuel burned.