Nobody likes reaching for it, but everyone expects it to be there. From 1 October, airBaltic passengers will no longer find a sick bag in the seat pocket in front of them. The Latvian airline, now restructuring under US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is cutting costs down to the smallest item on board.
The sick bag is only the most eye-catching of the cuts, first reported by Bloomberg on 25 September based on an internal document. Lavatory supplies, cockpit trash bags, cleaning and crew perks are also on the list.
Informations clés
- Compagnie aérienne: airBaltic, Latvia's national carrier
- From: 1 October 2026
- Sick bags: Removed from seat pockets; around 50 per aircraft kept at the rear of the cabin, available on request
- Also cut: Hand sanitiser and tissues in lavatories, trash bags in the cockpit, crew access to business lounges
- Crew duties: Cabin crew to remove trash where airport cleaning is reduced and collect pilots' meal trays
- Arrière-plan: Chapter 11 filed 14 September 2026 in New York, with €350 million of DIP financing
- First reported: Bloomberg, 25 September 2026
What Is Disappearing
According to Bloomberg, as reported by aeroTELEGRAPH, sick bags will be removed from the standard seat-pocket kit on 1 October. They will not vanish completely: around 50 per aircraft will be stored at the back of the cabin and handed out on request. Most airBaltic aircraft seat around 150 passengers.
Hand sanitiser and tissues are being removed from the lavatories, and trash bags from the cockpit. Where airports reduce cleaning services, cabin crew on some aircraft will remove rubbish themselves, and flight attendants will collect the pilots' meal trays. Since last week, crews are no longer allowed to spend layovers in business lounges, because the airline pays for every visit.
airBaltic says the changes comply with safety and regulatory requirements and reflect common industry practice.
Why Every Cent Counts
airBaltic filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on 14 September, backed by €350 million of debtor-in-possession financing arranged by Strategic Value Partners. Flights continue as normal while the airline restructures, and it expects to complete the process by around June 2027.
The airline has been squeezed from several directions. Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan problems grounded several of its all-A220 fleet for long periods, fuel costs have soared since the Iran war began, and its once-profitable routes to Russia disappeared after the invasion of Ukraine. According to Flightradar24, airBaltic plans to shrink from just over 50 A220-300s to 36 by the end of 2026, returning most of the leased aircraft.
DRM News on airBaltic's CEO blaming the Iran war for the crisis as the Chapter 11 process began.
Removing sick bags will not save an airline on its own. But in a restructuring, lenders want to see every line of cost addressed, and sick bags, lounge visits and cleaning contracts are part of that picture. More on the filing itself in airBaltic Files Chapter 11: €350 Million to Keep Flying.
Sources: Bloomberg via aeroTELEGRAPH, Runway Girl Network (airBaltic press release), Flightradar24
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