Airport, Estonia, Good for Business, Tourism, Transport

In December, passengers numbered 235,000, 6 % more than in December 2018.

The CEO, Riivo Tuvike, said that increases were observed in tourist and business traveler numbers alike. Factors contributing to crossing the 3.26 mln passenger mark included the new routes opened in 2019, whereas the main engine of growth was passenger demand resulting in very good load factor indicators on many routes. 

Demand continued to be high in a stable manner despite changes in the flight plans of several airlines. The average load factor of regular flights reached 75% in 2019, up from 70% in 2018.

All airlines save for Nordica, which changed its business strategy and gave up operating regular flights out of Tallinn, posted increases in passenger numbers in 2019. airBaltic emerged as the biggest carrier in terms of market share, serving 21% of all passengers during the year, followed by Nordica with 14% and Ryanair with 10%.

The Belarusian carrier Belavia started operating flights here in May 2019, and altogether 16 carriers operated regular flights to Tallinn in 2019. The biggest development leap was made by Wizzair, which added departures on the Kyiv route and started flights to Khuthaisi, Georgia, multiplying its passenger numbers. 

The total number of regular destinations was 36 and that of year-round destinations 28. In charter flights, which are operated to more than 40 destinations from Tallinn, the most popular are Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria in the summer season and resorts in Egypt and the Canary Islands in winter. 

Passenger numbers grew also in all of the state-owned airport company's regional airports, reaching 67,070 in total. The number of passengers at the airport of Tartu increased 8.5% on year to 28,322, Kuressaare registered an increase of 6.3% to 24,614, Kardla an increase of 17.5% to 11,684 and Parnu an increase of 9.7% to 1,009 passengers. The airport of Ruhnu was used by 1,446 passengers and the airport of Kihnu by 2 passengers during 2019.