Diamond Sky (DMS, Tallinn Lennart Meri) will continue to serve Estonia’s Public Service Obligation (PSO) route between Tallinn Lennart Meri and Kärdla on the country’s western island of Hiiumaa for the next seven months, it emerged a week after the carrier disputed the results of the tender that went against it.
Madis Kallas, Estonia’s minister of regional affairs, signed an interim contract with the airline on August 25, two days before the existing contract was due to expire. It is valid until March 27, 2024. As before, Diamond Sky will use a 33-seat Saab 340A on the route, the ministry said in a statement.
“The continuation of flights between Tallinn and Kärdla is important for local residents, business travellers, and tourists,” Kallas declared, adding that ticket sales will continue uninterrupted into next week.
Diamond Sky currently operates the Hiiumaa route with a Saab 340A turboprop it wet-leases in from SprintAir (P8, Warsaw Chopin), having signed what was already an interim PSO contract in January following an earlier disputed tender.
By the deadline for the tender at the end of July, three airlines, all of them Estonian, bid to operate the route, and NyxAir (OJ, Tallinn Lennart Meri) was proclaimed the winner. Skystream Airlines (STM, Tallinn Lennart Meri), which was founded last year, also submitted a bid. According to a report by the local broadcaster ERR, Diamond Sky suspected NyxAir of deliberately underpricing its bid, a claim NyxAir dismissed by saying it was the only bidder that operates its own aircraft, hence the lower price.
