Novaturas Faces €5.3M Liability After Court Rules on Pandemic Dispute

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA – June 30, 2026 – AB Novaturas, the largest tour operator in the Baltic States, is confronting a significant financial blow after the Court of Appeal of Lithuania ordered the company to pay millions in penalties to UAB “GetJet Airlines.” The ruling, which stems from a charter flight agreement disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, culminates a years-long legal battle and saddles Novaturas with an immediate liability estimated at over €5.2 million, casting a shadow over its financial stability.

On June 29, the appellate court amended a previous judgment, ordering Novaturas to pay a total of €4.5 million in penalties to GetJet Airlines. The decision also includes an 8 percent annual interest charge on the full amount, calculated from March 5, 2021. This latest ruling concludes a phase of a complex legal saga that underscores the profound and lingering impact of the global health crisis on contractual obligations within the travel industry.

A Costly Echo of the Pandemic

The financial implications for Novaturas are substantial and immediate. While the company had previously paid €1.15 million toward the dispute, the new ruling requires an additional payment of €3.35 million in principal penalties. However, the accumulated interest presents an even greater burden. Calculated over the period from March 2021 to the date of the ruling, the interest alone amounts to approximately €1.92 million. This brings the total immediate cash outlay required from Novaturas to an estimated €5.27 million, excluding further litigation costs.

This multi-million euro liability arrives at a precarious time for the tour operator. According to its audited 2025 financial results, Novaturas reported a net loss of €1.4 million on revenues of €168.5 million, which had decreased by 16.1% from the previous year. While the company managed to achieve a positive adjusted EBITDA of €429,000, this figure is dwarfed by the court-ordered payment. The significant financial obligation is likely to strain the company's liquidity and exacerbate existing concerns highlighted by financial analysts, who have pointed out that the company's debt is not well covered by its operating cash flow. The ruling could put further downward pressure on its stock, which has already seen a significant decline over the past year and led some market watchers to label it a "value trap."

The Anatomy of a Years-Long Legal Battle

The court's decision is the latest chapter in a dispute rooted in a charter flight agreement signed on December 3, 2018, long before the pandemic reshaped the global travel landscape. When the crisis brought international travel to a standstill, Novaturas cited force majeure circumstances to justify non-performance of its contractual obligations, leading to the dispute with GetJet Airlines.

The legal journey has been tortuous. A judgment from the Vilnius Regional Court in September 2023 was initially upheld by the Court of Appeal in March 2024, resulting in a smaller penalty of €1.15 million, which Novaturas paid. However, the case was far from over. Both parties pursued further appeals, and in a critical turn of events on November 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of Lithuania set aside parts of the prior ruling and sent the case back to the appellate court for re-examination. That re-examination has now resulted in a much harsher financial outcome for Novaturas, increasing the principal penalty nearly fourfold.

An Uncertain Path Forward

While the financial obligation is now enforceable, the legal fight may not be entirely over. In a statement, Novaturas CEO Aleksejs Kriščuks confirmed the company is “considering filing a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Lithuania.” The company has three months to file such an appeal, which, under the Lithuanian legal system, would focus strictly on potential errors in the application of law by the lower courts, rather than re-evaluating the facts of the case.

However, Kriščuks also acknowledged the inherent uncertainty of this path, stating, “there may be no guarantee that the Supreme Court of Lithuania will accept the cassation appeal at all and/or that it will change the above ruling of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania in favour of the Company.” Critically, filing an appeal does not suspend the enforceability of the current judgment. This means Novaturas must address the multi-million euro payment obligation even as it weighs its final legal options, leaving the company in a state of continued financial and legal ambiguity.

A Case Study for a Disrupted Industry

The Novaturas-GetJet case is more than a corporate dispute; it is a potent symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic's enduring legal and economic legacy. It serves as a stark reminder for the entire travel and aviation sector of the risks embedded in long-term contracts when faced with unprecedented global disruptions. The outcome highlights the difficulty of successfully invoking force majeure clauses and the immense costs that can accumulate when such disputes wind through the court system for years.

For Novaturas, this ruling adds another significant headwind to an already challenging operating environment marked by intense competition, excess travel supply, and geopolitical tensions affecting consumer demand. The company has been actively working to adapt by controlling costs and expanding its destination offerings. However, this substantial and unbudgeted liability will inevitably impact its capacity for strategic investment and innovation. Investors and industry observers will now be keenly awaiting the company's half-year financial report in August, which will provide the first clear picture of how this substantial liability is being absorbed into the company's balance sheet.