Prioritized Routes and Their Regional Benefits
During the workshop, participants discussed and evaluated various routes’ potential in groups. The routes assessed as having the highest potential in an early stage were Skellefteå-Kokkola, Umeå-Vaasa, Luleå-Oulu, and Sundsvall-Vaasa. These routes could promote business travel, economic growth, and tourism, as well as strengthen collaboration between Finland and Sweden. Participants also emphasized that these routes would benefit the business sector, higher education institutions, and workforce mobility in the region.
During the workshop, participants discussed and evaluated various routes’ potential in groups. The routes assessed as having the highest potential in an early stage were Skellefteå-Kokkola, Umeå-Vaasa, Luleå-Oulu, and Sundsvall-Vaasa.
The FAIR 2 workshop was based on a demand study conducted by consulting firm Kuudes.
“The results from Kuudes’ analysis provide an essential foundation for our work and clearly indicate an interest in new regional sustainable flight connections between our regions. The routes discussed in the workshop also align with those identified in Kuudes’ studies,” tells Isak Brändström, Project Leader at Tyréns, for the Kvarken Council EGTC.
Future Goals and Ambitions
The workshop also discussed ambitions and timelines for implementing sustainable regional aviation. The project partners would like to see an introduction of regional flights as early as 2026–2027, provided funding is secured. Given that electric and hydrogen aircraft are still in development, the workshop participants recommended starting with conventional aircraft powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the initial phase, transitioning to new technologies as they become available.
“We need to be both ambitious and realistic to make sustainable regional aviation a reality in the near future. Starting with SAF-powered aircraft and transitioning to electric and hydrogen planes when the technology is ready is a prudent strategy,” says Stig-Göran Forsman, CEO of Kronoby Flyghangar FAB, a development and advocacy organization for air traffic at Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport, owned by the municipalities surrounding the airport.
Challenges, Obstacles, and Proposals for the Next Project Phase
Several challenges were identified for establishing new flight routes, with the primary one being the need to create economic conditions for commercially viable regional flights. Based on the new knowledge about demand that has been developed in the project, the workshop participants are now looking forward to the next step. This involves both developing in-depth decision-making materials on business models and risk-sharing for the region’s decision-makers, and packaging the region’s offer for dialogue with operators and investors.
“Business cases, calculations, and other materials that support economic decisions for flight routes would further strengthen the project’s progress,” says Helena Holmgren, Business Developer at Luleå Municipality.
“We can then get an even better grasp of the potential demand for the planned flight routes. It is also important to identify operators who might be interested in flying these routes, as well as finding a sustainable financing model.”
The financiers of the FAIR 2 project are Interreg Aurora, Regional Council of Lapland, Kvarken Council EGTC, FAB Kronoby Flyghangar, Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK, Umeå Municipality, Skellefteå Airport, Skellefteå Kraft, Luleå Business Region, Sundsvall Municipality, Into Seinäjoki, Länsstyrelsen Västerbotten, Örnsköldsvik Municipality, Lycksele Municipality, Region Västerbotten, and MidtSkandia.
The FAIR 2 workshop and the entire project (https://www.kvarken.org/en/project/fair2) are steps toward sustainable regional aviation. The project is based on results from the previous FAIR project (https://www.kvarken.org/en/project/fair). The next steps involve concrete actions to open new routes. FAIR 2 is expected to enhance cross-border accessibility and contribute to the economic development of the Northern Nordics and the Kvarken region.
