The aviation sector is experiencing global growth and business is thriving, though Estonia still faces a shortage of skilled labor.

Tallinna Lennujaama AS is building three new hangars on the south side, costing nearly €14 million. Two of these hangars have already been leased to Magnetic MRO.

"In terms of market demand, we could build 10 such hangars," Magnetic's CEO, Risto Mäeots said.

The number of aircraft is increasing significantly worldwide, especially in India and other parts of Asia, he added.

"The number of commercial aircraft in the world is growing rapidly."

"Currently, while there are about 30,000 commercial aircraft, this number is expected to increase to approximately 36,000 over the next decade," Mäeots added.

"We bring almost 80 aircraft here each year, but now we will be reaching up to 100 aircraft. Practically none of these are carrying passengers. They come as our service is located here. They fly empty to Tallinn, solely for our maintenance services," he went on.

The airport generates significant revenue as a result and so can offer other services at lower costs, explained Tallinn Lennujaam CEO Riivo Tuvike said.

"We try to keep airport fees as low as possible, to motivate airlines to fly from Tallinn and to open new routes," Tuvike said.

"This benefits all Estonians directly, as it increases the number of destinations and flight options available," he went on.

Even more hangars could be built in the future, he noted. "In terms of space, there is actually plenty of potential. I think we could build ten hangars there, maybe even more."

The only shortage on the horizon relates to labor. "At present, about 50 people are to be hired, at an average wage roughly twice the national average. Recruiting even these 50 people is proving quite a challenge in Estonia. It's not that simple," Tuvike said.

Mäeots concurred, saying: "Where you see a problem, come and help."

"Our approach is such that we don't want to complain for too long. We can see that our business needs as regards people are much greater than the system comes up with. The state's funding and its interest may be greater elsewhere. We opted to create our own college, so we hope this will alleviate the problem," Mäeots added.

This approach may become common in other sectors as well, Mäeots said, but noted that it may not be the best solution for the state.

"Small businesses don't have the capacity to create learning centers. Eventually, this could result in large companies becoming bigger and stronger, but smaller companies would then lack the opportunity to enter the market, as the state education system can't compete with such privately operated schools," he went on.

However, aside from the shortage of skilled labor, Magnetic MRO has found a way to succeed in the aviation business in Estonia.

Estonia's small size is a much more minor obstacle in the aircraft maintenance business compared with passenger services or cargo operations. Tuvike said in any case he hopes that the airport will succeed in attracting more similar companies to Tallinn.

"There are other firms interested in providing services like these in Estonia. We are in negotiations with them too," the airport CEO said.

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