New Route of the Day (8 June 2026): Finnair between Helsinki and Kuressaare

Finnair commenced seasonal operations between its Helsinki hub and Kuressaare in western Estonia on Monday 8 June. The 275-kilometre hop will be maintained 4-weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with the ATR72-600 turboprop aircraft. The oneworld member is the only airline linking the two cities.

Operations will be maintained until 7 August.

What they said

Timo Vurme, Head of Flight Planning at Finnair, said: “At the moment, the route is primarily intended for the Finnish market during the peak holiday season – from early June to early August in Finland. Plans for next summer have not yet been finalized, as decisions on seasonal routes are usually made towards the autumn. But the initial reception has been very warm, we are satisfied with bookings, and we hope this continues throughout the summer.”

Eero Pargmae, Board Member of Kuressaare operator Tallinn Airport, added: “We have been actively promoting the Kuressaare route. We have marketed it both in Finland and Sweden. We are pleased that Finnair has joined us as a partner for the Finnish market, but we will certainly continue promoting it in Sweden too. Most important, Saaremaa’s tourism businesses and Visit Saaremaa need to strongly market this route to their potential customers this year, to get the planes full and so the route comes back next year. That is the most important thing.”

Finnair only foreign airline to serve three Estonian airports

Kuressaare joins Tallinn and Tartu in Finnair’s Estonia network, making it the only foreign carrier to serve three cities in the Baltic country. The Kuressaare route previously operated 21 years ago, though only for one summer.

This summer, Finnair operates up to 80-weekly flights between Helsinki and Estonia, offering just over 5,620 seats per week in each direction. The carrier has 70-weekly flights between Helsinki and Tallinn, as well as 6-weekly rotations to Tartu.

Kuressaare is located on Estonia’s largest island of Saaremaa. It is the westernmost town in Estonia with a population of just 13,185.