ENTHUSIAST ’ S CORNER
There are no longer any major airlines in the neighboring states of Estonia and Lithuania . Estonian Air and Lithuanian Airlines disappeared from the market , unable to assert their business models against powerful airline alliances and aggressive low-cost carriers . This is why Air Baltic has established bases in Tallinn and Vilnius ; it doesn ’ t want to leave the field entirely to competitors there . Only specialists in the booming ad hoc sector , such as Avion Express ( X9 ), ensure that local airlines stay active . Due to tax advantages and low wage costs , X9 is a soughtafter subcontractor within the European Union .
For nostalgic aircraft fans , Riga , the largest city in the Baltics , had the most interesting airport in the region 20 years ago . As the capital of Latvia , a nation of barely 2 million , it hosted , for a long time , a surprising number of airlines .
Most had sought footholds as niche providers in the charter and freight sectors . They took advantage of their many years of experience in operating a wide variety of Russian-made models . Accordingly , their inventory consisted of exotics like the Ilyushin 18D-40 that belonged to Concors Latvian Air Service . Later , even a pair of surplus Yakovlev 42D were imported from China . Who would have thought that , instead of Asians , they would end up flying Latvian vacationers to Spain and Türkiye ? There was also no lack of creativity in the external appearance of planes .
Lat Charter , in particular , had no inhibitions about color , to the delight of many photographers . Their two Tupolev 134s always attracted a great deal of attention from spotters everywhere . The only aircraft of Latpass Airlines , a Tupolev 154B-2 , was much less spectacular . It often appeared in Hurghada , but also flew regularly to Tel Aviv . Its color scheme bore a resemblance to that of a Tupolev 134 belonging to the liquidated Baltic International .
The Curonian Spit is one of the greatest natural wonders of the Baltic Sea . A 56-mile long ( 90km ) strip of land , just a few hundred meters wide , it separates the open sea from the inland waters of the Curonian Lagoon . Hidden behind huge shifting dunes are idyllic fishing villages like Nida . With the Soviet Union gone , the political border runs through the middle of the nature reserve . While a small sector in the south belongs to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad , formerly Königsberg , the northern part is in Lithuania . At the exit of the elongated lagoon lies Klaipeda , formerly Memel .
In the past , an excursion to the local sports airfield there was worthwhile for any spotter . They would have a rare opportunity to watch a dozen Antonov 2s being maintained . Neither fences
18 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2025 www . airwaysmag . com