DUSHANBE, April 23, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- After long interruption, Latvian air company, airBaltic, resumed flights to Dushanbe on April 23.

Limited liability company, Global Trans that represents airBaltic in Tajikistan says that at first, the company will operate once-weekly service from Riga to Dushanbe.  However, it cannot be ruled out that the company may resume the twice-weekly service in the future.

According to Global Trans, airBaltic uses Boeing 737 to operate flights to the Tajik capital and the price of economy class fare on this route is US$280.00.

We will recall that the air route between Dushanbe and Riga was launched on June 1, 2009.  It was a twice-weekly service – the flights were operated on Mondays and Fridays.  Tajik civil aviation authorities noted in October 2010 that airBaltic suspended flights to Dushanbe on October 1, 2010 due to shortage of aircraft following bankruptcy of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) that assumed the 47.2 percent in airBaltic.

A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as AirBaltic, is the Latvian flag carrier airline and a low-cost carrier, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in the capital, Riga.  Its main hub is at Riga International Airport.

The airline was established on August 28, 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and the Latvian state.  Operations started on October 1, 1995 with the arrival of the first Air Baltic aircraft, a Saab 340, at Riga, and that afternoon, the plane made the first passenger flight for Air Baltic.

AirBaltic operates 72 direct flights from Riga (some of them are seasonal).  As of January 2011, the AirBaltic reportedly include the following aircraft with an average age of 16 years: Boeing 7373-300 – 8; Boeing 737-500 – 4; Boeing 757-200 – 2; Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 – 8; and Fokker 50 – 10.