There will be no scheduled flights between Estonia’s southwestern resort town of Parnu and the Finnish capital city Helsinki this year, unlike in the previous two summers, as local entrepreneurs, who had previously financed the international flight link operating twice a week, have decided to withdraw their support this year, the regional Parnu Postimees reports.
Andrus Aljas, head of the Estonia spa hotels, who took part in negotiations with NyxAir, the airline operating the connection between the Estonian summer capital and Helsinki in the past two years, stated that the cancellation of the summer flights is due to the increased cost of flying and the lack of interest from local companies to fund a budget amounting to tens of thousands of euros.
While Aljas refrained from discussing the exact amount due to confidential information, NyxAir CEO Jaanus Ojamets disclosed that the cost for the two summer months, during which the air traffic between Parnu and Helsinki could have occurred this year, would be around 50,000 euros. This assumes that flights using the 50-seat Saab 2000 aircraft, which served the route in previous years, would be 50 percent sold out and local companies would cover the difference that would arise from operating at full capacity with no profit.
According to Aljas, efforts have always been made to fly as economically as possible, but this year the price has risen so much that supporting it is not economically justified for companies.
“Flying with a small plane, which operates between Parnu and Helsinki, is expensive, and the ticket’s own price becomes quite high,” he said.
In 2022, nearly 1,442 passengers flew between Parnu and Helsinki over a period of nearly four months, and last year, 681 passengers used the link in three months.
Aljas acknowledged that prices in aviation have risen over the past two years, but there are not enough companies in the Parnu area willing to help finance the operation of the air link.
Source: BNS
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