Tallinn Airport set an all-time passenger record in May

A total of 354,000 passengers travelled through Tallinn Airport in May, marking the highest monthly passenger volume in the airport’s history. Compared with May last year, passenger numbers increased by 13%. The growth was driven by both a 10% increase in available airline seats and higher average aircraft load factors.

“It is very encouraging to see that, despite a challenging external environment, the summer season has started very successfully. Just two months ago, both the price of jet fuel and concerns about its availability created significant uncertainty in the market, but the situation has since stabilised. In addition, passengers have embraced the new routes very positively, confirming that demand for air travel remains strong throughout the summer season,” said Eero Pärgmäe, Member of the Management Board of Tallinn Airport.

The strongest contributor to passenger growth has been the rapid expansion of Wizz Air in Tallinn. While the airline offered only one direct route from Tallinn last year, it now operates flights to eight destinations: Budapest, Gdańsk, Kraków, London, Rome, Warsaw, Venice and Vilnius. In June, flights to Tirana, the capital of Albania, will also be added. Wizz Air has significantly expanded Tallinn Airport’s route network, particularly towards Eastern Europe, while also creating new travel opportunities to Italy.

Other airlines also broadened the range of destinations in May. Eurowings launched a new direct route to Düsseldorf and resumed its seasonal service to Prague. airBaltic restarted summer flights to Heraklion and Malta and will add direct flights from Tallinn to Tirana in June.

The most popular charter destinations were resort areas in Turkey, Greece and Montenegro. Among scheduled services, the most travelled routes were Frankfurt, Warsaw, Riga and Helsinki.

airBaltic remains the largest airline at Tallinn Airport, carrying one in every four passengers. Wizz Air has risen to second place with a 17% market share. In May, a total of 20 airlines operated scheduled and charter services from Tallinn Airport to more than 40 destinations. Altogether, there were 4,023 take-offs and landings, averaging 130 flight movements per day.

Passenger numbers also increased at Estonia’s regional airports. In May, they served a combined total of 8,958 passengers. Tartu Airport set a new record with 4,875 passengers, while Kuressaare Airport handled 3,002 passengers and Kärdla Airport served 1,075 passengers. Ruhnu Airfield recorded six passengers during the month, while Pärnu Airport had no passenger traffic.

On 8 June, Finnair will launch a seasonal route between Kuressaare and Helsinki. Flights will operate three times per week—on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays—until 7 August 2026. The route will be served by a 70-seat ATR 72 aircraft.

Photo: Jarek Jõepera