The new Baltic partnership covers into-plane fueling at KUN and RIX, with BGS serving Kaunas and its Gulfstream Oil unit handling Riga.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Airest has begun a new fueling partnership with BGS Group covering Kaunas Airport in Lithuania and Riga Airport in Latvia.
- BGS provides into-plane fueling at Kaunas, while BGS Group company Gulfstream Oil delivers the service at Riga.
- The agreement is the first cooperation between BGS and Airest and gives the airline support from the same group across two Baltic stations.
- BGS says its wider fueling network supplies more than 150,000 tonnes of aviation fuel annually to commercial and general aviation customers.
(NEWS) KAUNAS, Lithuania, 2026-Sep-09 — /Travel PR News/ — Airest has added a new two-airport fueling partnership in the Baltics, appointing Baltic Ground Services (BGS) and its Gulfstream Oil (GSO) subsidiary to support aircraft operations at Kaunas and Riga.
Under the arrangement, BGS is providing into-plane fueling at Kaunas Airport (KUN) in Lithuania, while Gulfstream Oil is delivering the equivalent service at Riga Airport (RIX) in Latvia. The agreement marks the first cooperation between BGS and Airest and gives the Estonian operator a single group relationship across two stations in the region.
The division of work was confirmed in BGS’s Sept. 9 announcement, which positions the contract as an expansion of the company’s airline customer portfolio in the Baltics.
One customer relationship across two Baltic airports
The operational significance of the agreement lies in the ability to cover two airports through the same wider service network. Vitalis Dudys, Head of Commerce at BGS Group, said the partnership demonstrates the group’s ability to provide consistent fueling standards across multiple locations and that BGS expects to support Airest’s operations at both Kaunas and Riga.
Deniss Zilkins, CEO of Airest, said dependable local partners are important to the airline’s day-to-day network and that cooperation with BGS and Gulfstream Oil supports operational efficiency and reliability at the two stations.
BGS’s current aircraft fueling information lists Jet A-1 service at Kaunas and Riga among its active stations. The company says it supplies more than 150,000 tonnes of aviation fuel annually to commercial and general aviation customers and offers both into-plane fueling and de-fueling services.
At Riga, Gulfstream Oil forms part of that network. BGS’s current contact information identifies GSO as a Riga Airport-based group company, while BGS also maintains its own aircraft-fueling operations at the Latvian gateway.
Airest’s cargo operations give the agreement a logistics dimension
Airest is headquartered in Tallinn and has built its business around cargo aviation, while also participating in passenger charter and ACMI activity. Its current fleet information highlights Saab 340 and ATR 72-500F aircraft for cargo operations, alongside an Airbus A320 listing for passenger flying.
The carrier’s cargo profile makes Kaunas and Riga relevant beyond passenger aviation. Kaunas Airport handled 5,200 tonnes of cargo in 2024, according to Lithuanian Airports, while Riga processed more than 20,000 tonnes in 2025, up 7% from the previous year.
Riga Airport describes cargo development as one of its strategic priorities and maintains infrastructure for freighter operations, including refueling capability and an underground hydrant system for larger aircraft. Its cargo activity continued to accelerate during 2026, with the airport reporting 9,757 tonnes handled in the first four months of the year, 61% above the same period in 2025.
For an operator such as Airest, whose network is built around time-sensitive cargo and regional European flying, reliable turnaround services at individual stations are a practical part of maintaining schedule performance. Fueling agreements therefore sit within the broader chain of ground operations that determines how quickly aircraft can return to service.
BGS continues building a multi-station fueling network
The Airest agreement follows several other multi-airport fueling contracts announced by BGS during 2026. Earlier this year, the company renewed or expanded cooperation with carriers including Finnair, Ryanair and LOT Polish Airlines across Baltic and Central European stations.
Those agreements show a recurring strategy of serving airline customers at several airports rather than through isolated local contracts. For BGS, adding Airest extends that model to another operator with a regional cargo presence; for Airest, the arrangement consolidates fueling support at two airports under providers from the same group.
The agreement does not change airport routes or passenger services directly, but it adds another layer of operational support behind flights using Kaunas and Riga. In a sector where ground time, fuel availability and service consistency directly affect aircraft utilization, the new cooperation is a small but practical piece of the Baltic aviation network.
