The Baltic Bees Jet Team are a civilian jet aerobatic team based at Jūrmala Airport in Latvia. They are the first and only civilian jet team in the Baltics. The Baltic Bees have performed at airshows across Europe, as well as in China and Senegal, making them one of the most-travelled civilian jet aerobatic teams in history. They also offer passenger experience flights and have leased their jets to other organisations, including the Estonian Air Force.
The Baltic Bees have been considerably less active since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019; the team was in China at the time.
Active: 2008-present
Country: 
Latvia
Home base: Jūrmala
Operator: Wings4Sky Group (Private)
Size: 9 aircraft (typically 6 in display)
AIRCRAFT FLOWN
L-39C Albatross (2008-present)
History
The Baltic Bees were formed in 2008 by team leader Artyom Soloduha, who was the youngest jet team leader in the world at the time. Initially starting as a three-ship team, the Baltic Bees quickly added a fourth, fifth and sixth aircraft and dramatically increased the complexity of their performance. By around 2015, they were a fully-fledged jet team with a complex, military-style display routine. In July 2019, the team performed a one-off seven-ship display at Wings Over Baltics; it was hoped that the Baltic Bees will become a full-time seven-ship team in the future. In 2017 and 2019, the Baltic Bees performed near Chengdu in China, leaving their aircraft in China after their second visit to Chengdu in the expectation of flying further airshows in the region. They took the unusual step of flying to China, rather than dismantling and shipping their aircraft – a first for a visiting civilian aerobatic team.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has been largely inactive. A large portion of their fleet is in use for various military contracts and some aircraft were believed to have become stranded in China for a lengthy period. Passenger flights (and, therefore, the remaining portion of the L-39 fleet) are now split between Latvia and Italy. As such, as of February 2024, the team has not performed a full formation aerobatic display for several years.
However, some airshow capability has been retained and several displays are planned for 2024 (albeit flying as a two-ship or four-ship).
