Additional flight to Helsinki planned from Tartu Airport
Plans are being discussed to add an additional flight from Tartu Aiport to Helsinki at a more convenient time, but there is little interest in restarting departures to Riga, the Mayor of Tartu said.
Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klass said it is seen as a priority for Finnair to add new flights to the route and the city could help support this.
"To have another trip would open up new opportunities for our tourists, be more tourist friendly in terms of their time and give them the opportunity to fly from Helsinki in both European and transatlantic terms," Klaas said.
Flights currently leave Tartu at 5.30 a.m. and then return around midnight. In previous years, AirBaltic operated a Tartu-Riga route but Klaas says there is no interest from the airline in restarting it.
"Airbaltic is now saying their priority is Tallinn Airport, and clearly they want to pick up more business of the airlines that have left the market here in the Nordic region," he said.
Eero Pärgmäe, Business Development and Commercial Director at Tallinn Airport, explained why the route between Tartu and Riga has not been reopened. "Firstly, the distance is not very long, and secondly, Riga's home carrier, Airbaltic, has aircraft that are a bit too large to fly this distance," he said.
Pärgmäe believes new routes from Tartu will open in the near future, possibly to Stockholm or other destinations.
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Editor: Helen Wright
