The Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications will start negotiations over a contract for the operation of air services between Helsinki and Savonlinna with the city of Savonlinna and a Hungarian operator, Budapest Aircraft Service. The contract period runs from 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2015.
A contract may be concluded and air services started, if the city of Savonlinna provides part of the funding. The award decision by the Ministry will be annulled, if Savonlinna does not by 23 September 2014 commit itself to funding the operations with at least half of the total sum.
The total price of the procurement is estimated at EUR 3 million of which the Ministry of Transport and Communications will pay no more than EUR 1.5 million and the city of Savonlinna EUR 1.5 million. If the change mechanisms included in the contract raise or lower the total price, the impact will be split in half between the Ministry and the city of Savonlinna.
The invitation to tender, which closed at the beginning of August, attracted tenders from four operators: AS Airest, Avies AS, Budapest Aircraft Service and Flybe Finland Oy.
The award decision by the Ministry of Transport and Communications is based on a public service obligation imposed on scheduled air services between Helsinki and Savonlinna. The EU allows support for air services only through an obligation.
According to EU regulations an obligation may be imposed if the route is considered of utmost importance to the region's economic and social development and if no commercially viable means to operate the services are available. The service obligation determines the frequency of flights, number of seats and the maximum price of tickets, for example.
Further information
Päivi Hillner, Senior Officer, tel. +358 295 34 2473
