7.3% rise in passenger numbers at Tallinn Airport in January

A total of 210,000 travellers passed through Tallinn Airport in January, the second-highest number ever recorded for the month, being only slightly lower than the pre-corona record set in January 2020. Year on year, passenger numbers grew by 7.3% thanks to the increased capacity offered by almost all of the airlines operating flights in and out of Tallinn.

The carriers which offered the most additional seats in January were airBaltic, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and SAS. The airline with the highest number of travellers during the month was airBaltic, serving 27% of all passengers, followed by Ryanair (18%), Lufthansa and Finnair (both 11%). A total of 14 carriers operated direct flights from Tallinn to 33 destinations in January. The busiest routes were those to the nearby hubs of Helsinki, Frankfurt and Riga. The most popular charter flights were, as ever, those to package holiday destinations in Egypt, but the month also saw the launch of charter flights to Sri Lanka.

Eero Pärgmäe, a member of the management board of AS Tallinna Lennujaam, says the airport is very happy with its January results since they demonstrate continued strong demand despite the overall economic situation. In order to more effectively meet this demand and increase its capacity, the airport began replacing its existing security screening equipment during the month.

This ongoing work will impact passengers travelling in February and March, when queues may be longer than usual. “At peak times, especially in the early morning when quite a large number of flights depart within a short space of time, it might take travellers slightly longer to get through security,” Pärgmäe warned. “There are school holidays in February as well, which is always great news for passenger numbers, but does tend to mean longer queues and fewer parking spaces. We recommend that everyone takes both those factors into account. To make sure you get through security and passport control in good time and don’t miss your flight, we strongly suggest arriving at the airport a good two hours before your scheduled departure.”

A total of 4173 passengers passed through Estonia’s regional airports in January, including 3046 in Kuressaare, 831 in Kärdla, 158 in Ruhnu, 108 in Pärnu and 30 in Tartu.