Airport, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Taxation, Transport

The low-budget airline sent a letter to concerned parties, asking for lower fees, promising in return to quickly double the number of passengers arriving in Tallinn.

“What they are offering is the same course of action that was banned by the Latvian Competition Board in Riga,” commented Erik Sakkov, a member of the supervisory board of the Tallinn Airport. Last autumn, the Latvian Competition Board ruled that the Riga Airport had to abolish its volume-based fees scheme and advantages provided to Ryanair. As a result, the Latvian airport had to harmonise fees and lower them to other airlines as well.

“It would be hopeless to lower the fees so much that Ryanair would be prepared to fly here,” explained Sakkov. He stated that the airline’s offer includes a demand that from 950,000 passengers onwards the total amount of airport fees would be zero euros, which would include free services.

Currently, the passenger fees applied by the Tallinn Airport alone are 110 kroons per person. Other fees are implemented besides that.

“If the revenue base would be zero, our costs would not go anywhere,” asserted Sakkov, commenting that the airport would be forced to pay for Ryanair’s services from tis own pocket. He calculated that if the airline would reach its objective and transport a million passengers through the Tallinn Airport, the airport would need 130 million kroons to service them.

According to Ryanair’s offer, the airline would bring to Estonia direct flight routes from Milan, Gerona, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Kaunas, Oslo, Stockholm and from London and Madrid.