Tallinn Airport CEO: we are talking to two Chinese airlines

Rein Loik, chairman of Tallinn Airport, said this week at a meeting with members of the parliamentary committee on economic affairs that the airport was actively working on the plan to turn Tallinn into the main hub in Northern Europe for Asia-bound flights.

Responding to the idea put forward by MPs that Tallinn as the closest EU capital to China must make better use of its favourable location and developed infrastructure, Loik confirmed that Tallinn Airport has held talks with two Chinese airlines.

Erik Sakkov, board member of Tallinn Airport, said today to aripaev.ee that the success of Finnair in Helsinki shows that the plan was realistic. "But it is difficult to say what is the likelihood that Estonia will become a similar hub," he said.

"We are working in this direction, but if something is agreed, it is the airlines themselves that will announce it," said Sakkov about the airport's efforst to attract Asian airlines to Tallinn.
Sakkov did not specify which Chinese airlines Tallinn Airport has been negoatiating with.

Sakkov added that while in nine months, Tallinn Airport served just over one million passengers, the full-year target for next year is 1.8 million.

Read more: http://bbn.ee/article/2010/10/20/Tallinn_Airport_CEO_we_are_talking_to_two_Chinese_airlines