Tallinn Airport has announced an expansion of its passenger terminal in order to accommodate forecasted passenger growth.
By 2030, the airport anticipates serving almost 5 million passengers per year – which, according to airport bosses, will exceed its capacity.
The new expansion will be divided across five stages in order to allow for construction to continue simultaneously across the site, with work expected to continue until 2030.
Talinn Airport’s existing terminal was initially built to serve 2.8 million passengers a year, however, current annual passenger numbers regularly exceed 3.5 million, with forecasted figures expecting an increase to almost 5 million by 2030.
Development of the new terminal expansion is estimated to cost 75 million EUR – the largest investment in the airport’s history.
Riivo Tuvike, CEO at Tallinn Airport said:Most of the design work has now been finalised. Construction of the first phase inside the terminal has already begun, and the next major construction tender will be announced in mid-December.
Tallinn Airport must grow together with Estonia, it needs to be fast, convenient, and innovative, while remaining warm and welcoming.
Many passengers have probably noticed recently that baggage handling has become slower. Although our baggage handling team works efficiently and professionally, the bottleneck lies in an outdated baggage system and limited loading space.
Another challenge is our insufficiently sized border control area, where long queues quickly form when several aircraft arrive at once. These and other bottlenecks, along with the need to expand and modernise passenger areas, will all be resolved through this development project.
The airport is set to announce its largest construction tender later this month, which will seek a contractor for all remaining stages except Stage IV, which will cover the expansion of the security screening area, VIP service area and retail spaces.
By 2030, the airport will have added roughly 40% more space and renovated over 18,000 m² of existing terminal areas.
