A 96 minute flight over western Latvia on Tuesday kicked off the flight certification program for the Starlink inflight internet service on the airBaltic A220 fleet. The aircraft with the installed hardware can now be used to secure the necessary supplemental certification from EASA to allow installations fleet-wide.
We are thrilled to lead the way in Europe and be the first airline in this region to offer for free Starlink’s reliable, high-speed internet. By integrating Starlink, we are set to elevate the travel experience for passengers across the airBaltic network throughout Europe and beyond. – airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss
airBaltic first announced its Starlink plans in January 2023 after teasing it via a post on Twitter in June of 2022. In June of 2024 airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss expected the kit to be active before the new year. That has slipped a bit, but there’s still potential for airBaltic to complete the installations for its fleet before its peak summer travel season hits.
Once the summer schedule starts the airline likely will not have much in the way of aircraft downtime to complete the installations. That said, JSX, Hawaiian Airlines, and Qatar Airways are all flying with Starlink today, and each of them managed to get the installation timeline down to a quick overnight of the aircraft.
airBaltic currently has 49 A220s with plans to double the fleet to 100 in the years ahead.
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