Riivo Tuvike, Chairman of the Board of Tallinn Airport, noted that the biggest challenge facing Estonian aviation is the small market and an inefficient network of regional airports that needs rapid optimization. “First and foremost, the issue is Pärnu Airport,” Tuvike said.
Tallinn Airport is a good example of a peripheral airport in a difficult position: Estonia has a small population, competing airports are too close, and flying here is expensive. Does the current crisis mean that sooner or later flights to Tallinn will start to be cut?
At the moment, fuel shortages are affecting Western European countries more, such as Spain, the United Kingdom, and possibly Germany. This is because about half of Europe’s aviation fuel is actually imported from elsewhere, and those countries have been more dependent on it.
Our region — the Baltics and Scandinavia — depends more on local refineries that mainly use Norwegian fuel. Most airports have long‑term contracts with suppliers; for example, the Baltic states are supplied by the Orlen Lietuva refinery in Lithuania.
We do not currently see aviation fuel running out in the Baltics in the near future. Of course, the situation is volatile and may change, but this year I do not really see fuel shortages as a problem. The issue is rather the price.
Read more: ERR.EE
