Nordica’s second year of operations was a very successful one: although a loss of around 6 million euros had been forecast for the airline, it managed to earn almost 0.9 million euros in profit. This was primarily due to the 68% rise in passenger numbers Nordica experienced during the year.

Jaan Tamm, chairman of the management board of Nordic Aviation Group AS, says that 2017 can be characterised by such keywords as more rapid growth than originally planned and significantly improved financial indicators. “Once again I’d like to thank all of our passengers first and foremost, since their faith in Nordica is what’s led us to be able to share this great news with everyone today,” he said. “Building up a brand new airline isn’t easy, so having the support of the local population is critical. Thank you to everyone who’s flown with us for that trust.”

The Estonian airline started the year with six aircraft but added a further 10 to its fleet throughout 2017, making Nordica one of the fastest-growing airlines in Northern Europe. Three new routes were launched during the year (to St Petersburg, Hamburg and Gothenburg), raising the total number of Nordica destinations from 15 to 18.

The airline’s mission is to create flight connections to Estonia and thereby to support the development of Estonian society, the country’s economy and tourism. The number of passengers flying out of Tallinn with Nordica grew by as much as 68% in 2017, giving it a clear market-leading position at Tallinn Airport. Due to the small size of the local market, Nordica’s objective in building up a sustainable and profitable airline is to also turn a great deal of attention to the provision of services on foreign markets. In doing so the airline will have the opportunity to achieve a critical mass in terms of scale, reduce its unit costs and generate additional profit.

Nordica has become one of the most competitive airlines in its region, currently operating 19 aircraft – making it the biggest airline in Estonian history. It exports its flight services to Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands and employs almost 450 aviation specialists in Estonia and abroad.