In the first half of 2021, 283,495 passengers travelled through Tallinn Airport, being 50% less compared to the same period of 2020. In July, the number of passengers increased to a record 158,349, being the highest monthly number of passengers served since last March. Despite the continuing negative impact of the coronavirus, the Group earned EUR 0.1 million in net profit for the first half-year.
Regardless of the increased number of passengers and flight operations and a slight recovery of tourism, the Group’s focus continues to be on efficient management of costs. The Group recorded a total operating income of EUR 18.1 million, which is EUR 2.1 million less than in the comparable period of last year. “The good results of the pre-corona period, i.e., for the first two months of 2020, can be seen in this comparison. The reason for the reduced sales revenue was lower revenue from aviation, caused by slower than expected recovery of air traffic,” said Riivo Tuvike, Chairman of the Management Board of AS Tallinna Lennujaam.
According to Riivo Tuvike, prudent management of the company continues to be important and requires also fast response. “The summer months and a somewhat improved virus situation have led to an increase in the number of flight operations as well as passengers, which in turn has improved the overall financial situation of the company. Furthermore, also the extended salary grant offered by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, which we were able to use for three months this year, was of great help. Despite the better-than-expected summer, we can see that the second half of the year will be complicated and we continue to forecast a recovery from the crisis in 2024-2025,” said Tuvike.
At the same time, Tuvike emphasizes that despite the difficult times, it is important to continue investing in strategically important projects. “In the first half-year, we made investments in total amount of EUR 15.9 million. For us, it is important to continue with the works of the airside area as well as the baggage area of Tallinn Airport, where we are upgrading the baggage sorting system; in addition, works continue also at Pärnu Airport.
In July, 158,349 passengers passed Tallinn Airport, being the highest monthly number of passengers served since the beginning of the corona pandemic, exceeding twice the level of last July.
“We can see that the people still want to travel and experience new and positive emotions. For today, many have received also their second vaccine shot, which makes travelling within the European Union much easier. It is still important for all people to familiarize themselves with the requirements for entering the destination country before travelling, with particular care when traveling outside the European Union or passing through a transit country. At this point I recommend everyone to read the information on the Reisi Targalt or Re-open webpages,” Tuvike emphasized.
In July, direct flights were added to Zurich, Switzerland and Rome, Italy. Altogether, there were flights on 27 different regular routes. The most popular among charter flights were the destinations of Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece.
In July, a total of 2662 flight operations were carried out, being an average of 86 landings and takeoffs per day.
In seven months, 441,844 passengers have passed the airport and 12,387 flight operations have been carried out.
Tallinn Airport is the largest airport, belonging to the Estonian state, which has gained popularity as the world’s cosiest airport and has been repeatedly chosen as an airport with the best service in Europe. In 2019, Tallinn Airport provided services to more than EUR 3.26 million passengers and the company earned EUR 9.7 million in net profit. In addition to the Tallinn Airport, the company operates another six airports in Estonia.
