Tallinn Airport served over 2.22 million passengers last year, which was the best results of its history. Approximately 160 thousand passengers travelled through Tallinn in December, which is 19 per cent more than the year before. Over the year, the number of passengers increased by 2.5 per cent.
Commercial Director of Tallinn Airport Eero Pärgmäe said that 2016 was a positive year for aviation throughout the world, especially because of the low fuel price. “In Estonia, competition between airlines increased in addition to this, resulting in more flights at cheaper prices, which boosted the number of passengers last year,” added Pärgmäe. “The focus in the new year is on preparations for the European Union presidency and new connections with London and Hamburg – we hope to increase the number of passengers at the airport by at least 5 per cent.”
In terms of regular flights, the start of the last year was turbulent due to the changes in the market situation after the arrival of the new domestic carrier. Nordica, SAS and Finnair all increased the number of their flights, which led to a significant rise in the total number of passengers. The number of seats offered on regular flights increased by 4 per cent and the number of passengers went up by 4.8 last year. The average passenger load of flights was 68 per cent.
Global security had a significant impact on aviation trends last year with Greece replacing Turkey as the most popular holiday destination. Bulgaria, Italy and Croatia have also overtaken Egypt, Morocco and Cyprus among the most popular holiday destinations. The number of passengers on charter flights decreased by 14 per cent last year.
It was possible to fly from Tallinn to 23 destinations all year round, and seasonal routes increased this number to 34 in summer. Frankfurt, Helsinki and Riga were the most popular destinations. The airlines with the biggest number of passengers was Nordica, followed by airBaltic, Ryanair, Lufthansa and Finnair. The market shares of all larger airlines remained around 10-15 per cent.
