Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population.
Riga is the capital, primate, and the largest city of Latvia, as well as the most populous city in the Baltic States. Home to 609,489 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Tallinn Airport or Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is the largest airport in Estonia, which serves as the secondary hub for AirBaltic and the cargo airline Airest. It was also the home base of the now defunct national airline Estonian Air. Tallinn Airport is open to both domestic and international flights. It is located 2.7 nautical miles southeast of the centre of Tallinn on the eastern shore of Lake Ülemiste. It was formerly known as Ülemiste Airport.
Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is the state-owned flag carrier of Argentina, and the country's largest airline. The airline was created in 1949, from the merger of Aeroposta Argentina (AA), Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino (ALFA), Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (FAMA), and Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas (ZONDA), and started operations in December 1950. A consortium led by Iberia took control of the airline in 1990, and Grupo Marsans acquired the company and its subsidiaries in 2001, following a period of severe financial difficulties that put the airline on the brink of closure. The airline was renationalized in late 2008. It has its headquarters in Buenos Aires. The airline joined the SkyTeam alliance in August 2012; the airline's cargo division became a member of SkyTeam Cargo in November 2013.
Vilnius International Airport is the airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located 5.9 km (3.7 mi) south of the city center. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic, with one runway and 5 million passengers a year. Vilnius International Airport serves as a base for airBaltic, Ryanair, and Wizz Air. The airport is managed by Joint Stock Company Lithuanian Airports under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere and a seasonal base in Las Palmas launched in 2023. It is 97% owned by the Government of Latvia. It operates flights solely on Airbus A220 planes. It operates a frequent-flyer program and a buy on board menu offering food and drinks for purchase.
Etihad Airways is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates. Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and is the second-largest airline in the UAE after Emirates. The name Etihad is the Arabic word for 'Union'.
Estonian Air was the flag carrier airline of Estonia between 1991 and 2015. Headquartered in Tallinn it operated scheduled services from Tallinn Airport. Prior to its closure, the airline flew from Tallinn to 11 destinations in Europe.
Island Air was a commuter airline based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It operated scheduled inter-island passenger services in Hawaii. Its main base was the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Oahu.
RIX Riga Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 76 destinations as of November 2019. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines and RAF-Avia, and as one of the base airports for Ryanair. The Latvian national carrier airBaltic is the largest carrier that serves the airport, followed by Ryanair. The airport is located in the Mārupe Municipality west of Riga, approximately 10 km from its city centre.
The Bank of Latvia is the Latvian member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for Latvia from 1922 to 2013, issuing the Latvian lats albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1993. Since 2014, it has also been Latvia's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision. The Bank of Latvia's administration is located in Riga.
MicroLink was a Baltic IT company, founded by Rainer Nõlvak and Hanno Haamer in August 1991 in Tallinn, Estonia. Launched as a PC maker, it diversified into IT distribution, systems integration and providing of internet services and electronics manufacturing. The company established itself as the largest Baltic PC maker by the mid-1990s.
SmartLynx Airlines Limited, previously LatCharter, is a Latvia-based ACMI, charter and cargo airline based in Mārupe, operating flights on wet lease out (ACMI), holiday charter flights, ad-hoc passenger charter and cargo flights across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Estlink is a set of HVDC submarine power cables between Estonia and Finland. Estlink 1 is the first interconnection between the Baltic and Nordic electricity markets followed by Estlink 2 in 2014. The main purpose of the Estlink connection is to secure power supply in both regions to integrate the Baltic and Nordic energy markets.
Palanga International Airport is a regional international airport located near the resort town Palanga at the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest airport in Lithuania and focuses on short and mid-range routes to European destinations. It serves the Lithuanian Baltic sea resorts of Palanga and the city of Klaipėda, and parts of Samogitia and western Latvia.
Eesti Energia AS is a public limited energy company in Estonia with its headquarters in Tallinn. It is the world's biggest oil shale to energy company. The company was founded in 1939. As of 2014, it operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Jordan and Utah, United States. In Estonia, the company operates under the name Eesti Energia, while using the brand name Enefit for international operations. The main raw material for energy production – oil shale – is extracted from mines located in Eastern-Estonia and owned by the company. The group of Eesti Energia has three main operation areas: electricity generation, shale oil production, and sale and distribution of electricity. Its shares are owned by the Government of Estonia.
Valdis Zatlers is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007. He became President of Latvia on 8 July 2007 and left office on 7 July 2011 after failing to win reelection for a second term.
Iceland–Latvia relations are foreign relations between Iceland and Latvia. Iceland was the first country to recognize the independence of Latvia in August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on August 22, 1991. Neither country has a resident ambassador. Iceland is represented in Latvia through its embassy in Helsinki (Finland). Latvia is represented in Iceland through its embassy in Oslo (Norway) and an honorary consulate in Reykjavík.
Primera Air Scandinavia A/S, was a Danish airline owned by Primera Travel Group. It provided scheduled and charter passenger services from Northern Europe to more than 40 destinations in the Mediterranean, Middle East and North America. It ceased operations on 1 October 2018.
Ieva Ilvesa is a Latvian diplomat, politician and cyber security policy expert, and former First Lady of Estonia. Ilvesa ran as a Latvian candidate for the 2019 European Parliament election. She was the third place candidate for Development/For!, second on the list was Baiba Rubesa, the former CEO of Rail Baltica.
