"Our concern is the growing financial burden Tallinn Airport faces due to regional airports," said Tallinn Airport CEO Riivo Tuvike. "Last year, we incurred a loss of €7.7 million at regional airports. That money has to come from somewhere. And it effectively comes at the expense of flying out of Tallinn. The fees at Tallinn Airport are higher as a result, which makes flying from Tallinn more expensive," he said.

"In terms of international connectivity, it's crucial that we make some decisions about the long-term future of these regional airports. For those airports we do continue with, it's important that all costs are covered through regional policy funding," Tuvike added.

He agreed with the host's assertion that regional airports in Estonia will never be economically viable. "They definitely won't be in Estonia. Broadly speaking, they say you need around a million passengers before an airport starts to break even," Tuvike noted.

According to him, the challenges with regional airports are not unique to Estonia.

Tuvike acknowledged that regional airports bring value to different areas and that people living there naturally want to have an airport. "The only question is how expensive it is," he said.

"Another concern we have relates to aircraft. Manufacturers can't keep up with demand. Last year, between 1,200 and 1,300 commercial aircraft were produced, but the need is for over 2,000," Tuvike said. According to him, the aircraft delivery backlog has grown from 10 years to 14.

"Because aircraft are in short supply, airlines are optimizing their route networks. They're directing planes to routes where they can make the highest profit. We've reached a point where it's no longer enough for an airport to simply be competitive with its fees," Tuvike explained.

He said airlines are now expecting airports to offer additional incentives and discounts to help boost their revenue base. "That's not something we can do on our own as an airport. We've discussed this with the state. One option we're considering is whether the profit from the sale of Nordica aircraft could be redirected toward route development at the airport," Tuvike said.

Commenting on Martin Gauss' departure from airBaltic, Tuvike said leadership changes can bring shifts, but he couldn't yet specify what those might be.

"AirBaltic has clearly identified Estonia as a strategically important market. If a new CEO comes in and there are also changes in ownership, we can expect some adjustments. But it's too early to say whether anything will change drastically," he said.

As for flight routes, Tuvike noted that if a route doesn't have enough passengers, it will inevitably be shut down. "Strategically, we've focused more on hub airports to ensure strong connections there. Through those hubs, we can at least reach every destination. It might take a bit more time, but we'll get there eventually," he said.

"There's a visible trend: people's desire to travel is steadily increasing and more and more people are both willing and able to buy plane tickets and fly somewhere," Tuvike added.

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