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Estonian Air is currently the main carrier to Ülemiste airport, T 640 1160, http://www.estonian-air.ee. All prices given below include tax. Estonia is scheduled to join the European Union in May 2004 and the airport authorities anticipate an increase in the number of airlines flying direct to Tallinn, http://www.tallinn-airport.ee">http://www.tallinn-airport.ee. From the UK and Europe Tallinn is connected by direct flights to many European cities, including Berlin, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kiev, London, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Stockholm, Vilnius and Warsaw. Estonian Air flies from Gatwick airport. There is one flight daily except Saturday (2 hrs 50 mins, £160-500), arriving at Ülemiste at 2300 and leaving for London at 1620. Other carriers offering flights to Tallinn from London and several regional airports include Finnair, via Helsinki, T 611 0950, http://www.finnair.com">http://www.finnair.com (from £165); SAS, via Stockholm or Copenhagen, T 605 8553, http://www.scandinavian.net">http://www.scandinavian.net (from £220); Lot, via Warsaw, T 646 6051, http://www.lot.com; and CSA, via Prague, T 630 9397, http://www.czechairlines.com (from £185). Watch out in particular for budget airlines opening up flight routes to Tallinn in the near future; for the moment, flying to Helsinki from London Stansted on Flying Finn, T 00358 10030010, http://www.flyingfinn.fi is a budget option (from £110 return). Copterline, T 610 1818, http://www.copterline.ee, runs a helicopter hop between Tallinn and Helsinki, with several trips a day. The 18-minute trip between Tallinn’s City Hall Heliport and Helsinki’s Hernesaari Heliport costs 1995 EEK. Online bookings cheaper. From North America There are no non-stop flights from North America to Tallinn, so the best option is to fly via another western European city. The most direct options are via Stockholm or Copenhagen, served by SAS, T 800 221 2350 (USA telephone sales, toll free), http://www.scandinavian.net">http://www.scandinavian.net, flying from New York and Chicago; and via Helsinki, served by Finnair, T 800 950 5000 (USA toll free), T 0870 241 4411 (London), http://www.finnair.com">http://www.finnair.com, flying from New York. SAS belongs to the Star Alliance, which also includes Estonian Air and United Airlines; Finnair is part of OneWorld, to which American Airlines has signed up. Airport Information Ülemiste airport, T 605 8888, http://www.tallinn-airport.ee">http://www.tallinn-airport.ee, is modern and extremely manageable, with one passenger terminal. In the arrivals hall, you’ll find a telephone, a cash point, a bureau de change, a café, a restaurant, a hairdresser and beauty salon, a humidor and several local travel agencies and car-hire firms. A taxi to central Tallinn costs about 100 EEK. Bus number 2 leaves from outside the departure hall and stops near the Kaubamaja department store, a short walk from the Old Town (note that bus routes may change as a result of building works in the city centre). It costs 15 EEK, one way. The duty-free shop is open only to departing passengers. Free WiFi (wireless internet) access is available in the transit zone; there’s also free internet access at the Sony Ericsson stand. For passengers arriving at night, the bureau de change is open and there should be several taxis waiting. And with the city’s bars and clubs just minutes away, there’s little incentive to hang around.
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