In December some 160,000 passengers passed through Tallinn airport, 19% more than the year before. The annual number of passengers was 2.5% higher than in the same month a year earlier, the operator Tallinn Airport (AS Tallinna Lennujaam) said.

According to marketing director Eero Pärgmäe, 2016 was a positive year for aviation globally, primarily thanks to low fuel prices. “In addition, in Estonia competition among carriers tightened, which resulted in more flights at lower prices, and that was what drove the increase in passenger numbers last year,” Pärgmäe said.

“The new year will be characterized by the preparation for the EU presidency and added connections to London and Hamburg. We hope to increase the passenger number by at least 5% this year,” he added.

In terms of regular flights, the past year was off to an unsteady start, owing to the changed market situation after the bankruptcy of domestic carrier Estonian Air.

In September both the new national flag carrier Nordica (back then operating without the trade name as Nordic Aviation Group, short NAG) as well as SAS and Finnair increased their number of flights, which brought about a clear upward trend in passenger flows.

The number of seats on regular flights grew by 4%, and the number of passengers by 4.8% compared to the previous year. The average load factor was 68%.

Aviation trends were markedly affected by the global security situation as well last year. As a result, Greece unseated Turkey as the most preferred holiday destination, and Egypt, Morocco, and Cyprus were replaced by Bulgaria, Italy, and Croatia as popular vacation destinations. The overall number of passengers on charter flights fell by 14% year on year.

Tallinn airport offered regular flights to 23 destinations throughout last year. Seasonal flights included, the number of destinations increased to 34 in the summer. The most popular destinations were Frankfurt, Helsinki, and Riga. Nordica had the most passengers, followed by Air Baltic, Ryanair, Lufthansa, and Finnair. Market shares of all the major airlines were around 10-15%.