Largest Baltic Airport Says To Dismiss 500 Employees Over COVID-19

Riga International Airport, located and named after the Latvian capital city, informed in a press release on Tuesday of its plans to dismiss almost half of its employees in light of operations being almost completely paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic

RIGA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2020) Riga International Airport, located and named after the Latvian capital city, informed in a press release on Tuesday of its plans to dismiss almost half of its employees in light of operations being almost completely paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Riga airport has 1,200 employees. Since March 17, all international flights in Latvia have been suspended.

"We are preparing a collective dismissal of about 500 employees. The cuts are due to the fact that the coronavirus emergency situation has almost completely stopped the airport operations," Riga said.

According to the press release, the airport expects the crisis to endure "not for days or weeks, but for months and years."

"A mere month ago, the Riga airport used to be the leading aviation company in the Baltic countries with ambitious development plans. Today, we are fighting not for the leadership and better performance, but for survival," the press release read.

Latvia has so far reported 548 COVID-19 cases, as of Tuesday. On March 12, the Latvian government declared a state of emergency over the pandemic.