Rīga-based airBaltic in August will begin direct flights from the Latvian capital to the industrial city of Manchester in the United Kingdom, the airline announced June 9.

Flights will commence Aug. 16 three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the airline said in a press release. The cost of a one-way ticket will be LVL 49 plus airport taxes.

Passengers will travel on a 120-seat Boeing 737. The flight will take about three hours.

The new route will be the second airBaltic flight to the United Kingdom and the 21st overall.

Founded in 1995, airBaltic is owned mainly by the the Latvian government and the Swedish airline SAS.

Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, already visiting Canada and the United States, is expected to be among world leaders and dignitaries attending the state funeral of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on June 11, the Latvian president’s press office has announced.

Reagan died June 5 at the age of 93. He was the 40th president of the United States.

In a letter to President George Bush, Vīķe-Freiberga said Latvia will always remember Reagan as a courageous fighter for freedom and justice. “We remember his unique role in ending the Cold War,” she wrote, “and in liquidating the Iron Curtain, which brought about the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire.”

In Rīga, a book of condolences was opened June 7 at the U.S. Embassy and will be available for signing through June 11, according to the embassy’s Web site. The consular section of the embassy will be closed June 11 in observance of the national day of mourning in the United States.

One of Rīga’s best-loved tourist attractions and most important religious monuments, the Dome Cathedral (Doma baznīca), has been temporarily closed because of concerns about the building’s structural soundness.

Minister of Culture Helēna Demakova ordered the closure June 8 after learning the results of a geologic study that suggests the building is in a critical state.

“We must act without delay,” Demakova said in a prepared statement. ” Because of concerns about people’s safety, the Rīga Dome is being closed for now.”

Constructed beginning in 1211, the cathedral includes several architectural styles, evidence of later reconstruction on the building. It also houses one of the largest organs in Europe and is a popular venue for concerts.

The cathedral will be closed at least until a final report is issued by the State Building Inspectorate, according to the culture ministry. Demakova warned that the government will have to deal with financing the restoration of the cathedral.