Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, Forum, Transport

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 10:54

St. Petersburg economic forum brings record number of flights per day to Estonia

BC, Tallinn, 31.05.2018.Print version
The Estonian state-owned air navigation services provider Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS on Friday serviced a record 885 flights in the Estonian airspace, the notable increase in the number of flights was linked to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, informs LETA/BNS.

While the average number of flights serviced in the Estonian airspace in 24 hours is 600, then Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS on May 25 serviced 885 flights for the first time in the history of Estonian aviation. Of these, 185 either landed to or departed from Estonian airports and 71 flights were domestic flights, Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS said.


Ullar Salumae, head of the flight control department, said that the notable increase in the number of flights was linked to the taking place of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, but flight traffic volumes are growing in general as well. "Flight density in the Estonian airspace has been showing a growth trend for several years. It has grown even 8% in the Estonian airspace in the first half of the year and growth has also been forecasted for the second half of the year," Salumae said, adding that flight traffic is the busiest during the summer period and the most infrequent during the fall and winter season -- November, December, January and February.


Salumae said that during the summer period, flight density is influenced both by the activity of holidaymakers as well as the operating of hobby pilots in the airspace and it must be taken into account that the Estonian airspace does not end with the land border. The main portion of the flights serviced by Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS include overflights in the direction of east and west. "The most overflights are made between Europe and finland, slightly fewer in the direction of the Pacific Ocean and in the direction of Russia. We cooperate with altogether nearly 1,000 various customers," Salumae said.


An increase in the frequency of air traffic can be seen in the whole of Europe. On July 21 last year, altogether 8,800 flights passed through the British airspace in one day, which marks a record in the history of British aviation. The numbers are nevertheless more modest in the Baltics and the Nordic countries. According to Eurocontrol, altogether 680 flights per day were serviced in Latvia in the first four months of 2018, while the same number stood at 720 in Lithuania, 746 in Finland and 2,118 in Sweden.


"An increase in the number of flights bring with it an increase in the work burden of air traffic controllers, but at the same time has a positive impact on the economic results of the company," Salumae said. In order to regulate work burden, a regional air traffic control center of the third sector is being introduced. "This way we can distribute the work burden more evenly among more air traffic controllers, as it is extremely important that air traffic is carried out without delays and that safety is ensured at all times," Salumae said.






Search site