airBaltic downgraded to default after Chapter 11 filing

Fitch Ratings has downgraded airBaltic’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to D, following the Latvian airline’s decision to enter Chapter 11 financial reorganisation in the United States. In Fitch’s methodology, a D rating applies to an issuer that has entered bankruptcy or another formal restructuring procedure while debt remains outstanding.

airBaltic initiated Chapter 11 proceedings on 14 September while continuing normal flight operations. The airline has secured commitments for €350 million in debtor-in-possession financing to provide liquidity during the restructuring.

The rating change formalises a shift that had been building for months. As recently as 11 September, Fitch estimated that airBaltic needed about €156 million in short-term funding to continue operating as planned and described its alternatives without new financing as “quite limited”.

Source: Fitch Ratings / airBaltic, 23 September 2026.