New air services tender for the Helsinki-Pori connection has started

Based on the tender started by The City of Pori and Traficom, air services are procured for the time period between 1 January 2025–27 March 2027.  The costs of the procurement will be borne by the City of Pori and the state. 

The tender is based on the 2025 appropriations decided in the Government budget session in September 2023 to support the flight connection between Pori and Helsinki. The primary aim of the procurement of scheduled air services is to ensure the transport connections necessary for the trade and industry of the Pori area. 

“Partnership with the state in organising air services is important to Pori. Air services have developed well and serve the area widely. I believe that the international flights coming through Helsinki will have an even greater significance in the future. We have received mostly positive feedback regarding the current schedules and we have aimed to bear that in mind in the new tender as well,” says the mayor of Pori, Lauri Inna.

The tender is for two return flights between Helsinki and Pori during weekdays. The City of Pori and Traficom hope that the flights between the two cities could continue as smoothly as possible when the previous agreement period ends at the end of December 2024.

Call for tenders open to all EU air carriers

Traficom has imposed a public service obligation on the route, setting minimum standards for the air carriers participating in the tender procedure. Tenders can be submitted by all air carriers that are established in the EU and meet the minimum criteria of the call.

In the call for tenders, Traficom and Pori have determined maximum ticket prices and defined certain responsibilities for air carriers to ensure smooth travel chains. A one-way ticket may cost at the most EUR 250, a round-trip ticket EUR 400. The passenger capacity of flights must be at least 29 seats.

The call for tenders will end on 01 July 2024.