airBaltic passengers discover that planes can also not fly - Liepāja has known this feeling for years

Riga's airline airBaltic has decided to extend its experiment with flight cancellations to Dubai and Tel Aviv until March, causing real panic among the capital's residents who are accustomed to their money guaranteeing services.

In Liepāja, such situations are called a regular day. Local pensioner Jānis Bērziņš, who over the years has experienced tram line closures, bus route changes, and even store shutdowns, comments: "What's the big deal? We once had a tram that only ran until Tuesday lunchtime, and nothing - we survived. Now these Riga folks are crying because they can't get to Dubai."

Particularly ironic is the situation where passengers are offered gift vouchers for future travel. It's like Karosta Prison administration offering visitors who can't enter the museum a free opportunity to come again. Liepāja merchant Maija Liepiņa laughs: "In our store, if we don't have a product, we can't offer a voucher for next time. But airlines, it turns out, can."

While Riga residents call airBaltic's customer service center, Liepāja locals go for walks on the beach and think about how good it is that their journeys usually end in Karosta or at most in Riga. As the local philosopher at Liepāja's central railway station said: "If you don't expect anything to work, you're never disappointed."