Travellers can keep up-to-date with world news at the Postimees Gate, in cooperation with Estonia’s biggest daily newspaper.
Tallinn Airport is experiencing traffic growth, new route development, and has enhanced the passenger experience with its creatively transformed terminal interiors. It was commended in the ‘Under 5 million passengers’ category at this year’s ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards. Rein Loik, CEO Tallinn Airport, spoke to Ross Falconer.
Tallinn, the alluring capital of Estonia, is the birthplace of Skype and increasingly a tourism magnet – its Old Town being a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport handled two million passengers in 2014 – up 3% year-on-year – and the growth trend has continued in 2015. The latest figures for August show a 12.3% rise to 234,000 passengers, and the overall increase for the first eight months of the year is an impressive 9.3%.
The airport’s CEO Rein Loik highlighted the importance of these statistics, articulating a desire to open new routes and further enhance Tallinn’s connectivity. Growth is largely being driven by the airport’s main carrier Estonian Air, which in 2014 accounted for 27% of total passenger numbers, as well as a rising Estonian economy.
The airport’s successes over the past year led to it being commended in the ‘Under 5 million passengers’ category at this year’s ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards. Loik is justifiably proud of the achievement: “It is important to get this recognition for our very professional team. It means we are moving in the right direction, and we will communicate to our passengers that we are one of the best airports in Europe handling under five million passengers.”
Rein Loik, CEO Tallinn Airport: “It is important to get this recognition for our very professional team. It means we are moving in the right direction, and we will communicate to our passengers that we are one of the best airports in Europe handling under five million passengers.”
Estonia has a population of 1.4 million and Loik endearingly refers to Tallinn Airport as “cosy”. Indeed, a key element of his strategy is for Tallinn “to be the cosiest airport in the world, and to have the highest possible service quality level”.
The ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards judges praised Tallinn Airport for “creative interior design that enhances the customer experience” and “high levels of satisfaction and retail growth”.
The airport was substantially modernised in 2008, including the terminal and airside areas. Enhancements included more retail and food & beverage facilities, business and VIP lounges, spacious check-in and seating areas, a new children’s play area, and unlimited free WiFi.
Loik explained that Tallinn Airport is also transforming its gate areas with individual concepts in cooperation with its Estonian business partners. Gate 2 recently underwent a facelift in collaboration with local beverage producer and bottler A. Le Coq. It now features comfortable red sofas, power points and higher tables for passengers wishing to charge their computers or phones. There is also an adjacent café.
Travellers can keep up-to-date with world news at the Postimees Gate, in cooperation with Estonia’s biggest daily newspaper. Meanwhile, the Enterprise Estonia Gate offers interactive ways to engage with visitors and inform them about employment opportunities in Estonia.
Tallinn Airport currently connects with a network of over 30 destinations. Its wish list of unserved routes for which there is strong demand includes Zurich, Rome, Hamburg, Madrid, and Prague, among others. “We are interested in attracting new services from full-service and low-cost carriers – both are very important to us,” Loik commented.
It was recently announced that easyJet will launch a twice-weekly service between Tallinn and Milan Malpensa, beginning in December 2015. Meanwhile, next spring airBaltic will begin two new routes from Tallinn to Amsterdam Schiphol and Stockholm-Bromma.
Looking ahead, Tallinn Airport is planning a runway renovation project, including new lighting systems, and expansion of the apron areas. Work will begin next year and be complete in 2017. Plans for 2016 also include building a new car park.
The airport’s efforts are certainly resulting in higher passenger satisfaction levels, according to its surveys. “We are working hard. We will try to satisfy even more passengers, and try to win the ACI EUROPE Best Airport Award next year,” Loik concluded.
