Tallinn Airport sets monthly passenger record in July

More than 384,000 passengers travelled through Tallinn Airport in July, the highest monthly figure in the airport’s history and nearly 20 percent more than in the same month last year, ERR reported.

During the first seven months of the year, the airport served 2.15 million passengers, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year.

Wizz Air drove much of the growth after expanding strongly in Tallinn over the past year. The airline carried 19 percent of all Tallinn Airport passengers in July and operated direct flights to nine destinations. AirBaltic remained the largest airline, with a 29 percent market share.

In total, 19 airlines operated scheduled and charter flights from Tallinn to nearly 50 destinations in July.

“The 19 percent increase in passenger numbers in July confirms that demand for air travel remains strong,” said Eero Pärgmäe, a board member of AS Tallinn Airport. He said the growth was supported by increased capacity from airlines and a more diverse route network, adding that new routes to Poland, Hungary and Italy had also increased the number of tourists arriving in Estonia.

Scheduled flights accounted for 94 percent of passengers, while charter flights made up the remaining 6 percent. Charter passengers increasingly travelled to popular holiday destinations, with Antalya accounting for nearly three quarters of all charter traffic in July. Antalya was also served by scheduled flights.

The most popular direct scheduled route in July was Warsaw, followed by Helsinki, Riga, Frankfurt and Stockholm. Compared with last year, passengers were spread more evenly across a more diverse network of destinations.

The number of flight operations rose by 8 percent year on year. There were 4,101 landings and takeoffs in July, an average of 132 flight operations per day.

Passenger numbers also increased at Estonia’s regional airports, which served a combined 9,181 passengers in July. Kuressaare Airport recorded a monthly record of 5,037 passengers, helped by the addition of a seasonal route to Helsinki. Tartu Airport served 2,223 passengers with a reduced summer schedule, Kärdla Airport served 1,709 and Pärnu Airport 204. Ruhnu airfield had eight passengers.

The number of tickets currently available for the coming months indicates that the summer travel season will remain active until the end of October.