One of Latvian carrier Air Baltic’s early Airbus A220-300s has been confirmed by the carrier as having been written off after a maintenance incident last year.
The airline had taken delivery of the twinjet (YL-AAO) in March 2019, an arrival which took its fleet of the type to 15.
But the airframe underwent heavy maintenance in the middle of last year and on 14 June, shortly after the work was completed, the auxiliary power unit was run prior to the jet’s release.
“During the ground run the aircraft sustained extreme heat damage in the fuselage and wing-root area from the ozone filter,” the carrier states in its full-year financial report.
It has not detailed the full circumstances of the occurrence.
But Airbus engineering specialists examined the aircraft and, in December, determined that it was “beyond economic repair”, the airline states.
Air Baltic says it “recognised a full impairment” of YL-AAO and related components at the end of the financial year, writing off the jet.
“The lease remains in place until settlement,” it adds, expected by June this year.
“The aircraft will be transferred to the insurer upon completion of the claims process, and the salvage value is being assessed.”
Air Baltic states that its overall A220 fleet at the end of 2025 stood at 51 aircraft, excluding the damaged airframe.
It says the incident resulted in a negative net impact of €6.2 million ($7.2 million) on the airline’s full-year performance. The company made a net loss of €44.3 million.
Air Baltic has yet to confirm whether it will directly replace YL-AAO.
