Tallink Grupp says it has made the decision to add extra departures on the Tallinn-Helsinki route for shuttle vessel Star. The group initially announced that Star will return to the route only for limited weekend departures from 15 May 2020, but due to increased demand and the company’s commitment to ensure maximum safety and adherence to distance requirements onboard, the company has today decided to add further departures to the route already from this Thusrday, 14 May 2020.
During the month of May Star will operate according to the below schedule only:
- Thursday, 14 May 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
- Friday, 15 May 10.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
- Sunday, 17 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki;
- Wednesday, 20 May (ahead of Helatorstai) 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
- Sunday, 24 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki;
- Thursday, 28 May 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
- Friday, 29 May 10.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
- Sunday, 31 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki.
The departures for Star will follow the same pattern also in June, until 14 June (inclusive).
Megastar will continue to operate on the Tallinn-Helsinki route according to normal schedule.
Commenting on the decision to add extra departures to the route, Tallink Grupp’s CEO Paavo Nõgene, said:
“Since the announcement by the Finnish government last week that commuter travel as well as travelling for unavoidable reasons will once again be permitted between Estonia and Finland, the demand for tickets has increased significantly. Thus, to ensure that we are able to keep the necessary distance between all the passengers onboard to prevent the possible spread of the virus, we consider it necessary to add more departures to this vital route between our two countries.
“We are taking significant steps and putting in place a host of measures to enhance everyone’s safety onboard, but are also encouraging our passengers to ensure they follow the rules in place and adhere to the guidance from our staff both in terminals as well as onboard, as we all need to act responsibly to guarantee maximum safety.
“We advise passengers to ensure they allow more time ahead of their trip for embarking as there will be measures in place also in terminals, as well as for disembarking as passengers will be allowed to disembark the vessels also in groups, which allows us to adhere to the distance requirements in place. We are grateful to all our passengers for their cooperation and understanding during this time.”
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 14 vessels and operates seven ferry routes under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs over 7,000 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. In 2019, Tallink Grupp provided services to 9.8 million travellers and transported approximately 380,000 freight units of goods. The shares of Tallink Grupp are listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.