After an oft-delayed two-year procurement process, NyxAir begun its operation on the Tallinn-Kuressaare route on Monday, December 21, taking off from the capital of Saaremaa in the early morning.

NyxAir's turboprop aircraft ATR 42-500 was constructed in 2005 and will fly back and forth twice a day on weekdays and once a day on weekends.

Transaviabaltika lost the contract as the terms of the new tender due to its aircraft being too old. A stipulation in the agreement required planes made [[[[[[2]]]]]] later than the year 2000.

The Road Administration began looking for a carrier capable of operating flights with a larger plane in 2018, but the first procurement failed. In the spring of 2019, previous carrier Transaviabaltika took a procurement to operate on the route for the next five years.

Nordica's subsidiary Regional Jet however challenged the outcome of the tender and it was eventually declared it invalid. A new procurement was announced in fall 2019 and a condition was added - the plane operating on the route was to be constructed after 2000. Transaviabaltika tried challenging that condition to no result.

The fall procurement was extended in the start of 2020 and eventually saw five companies submit tenders. After many delays, NyxAir was declared as the winner in August, but Regional Jet challenged the result. The tender was not overturned however and NyxAir finally came out on top.

Transaviabaltika had continued operating flights on a provisional basis while the appeal was going on.

Source: ERR

A giant letter Ö was unveiled at the border of Saaremaa on Monday to highlight the islanders' dialect which replaces the letter Õ with Ö.

A year and a half ago, the border was marked with a brown sign which marked the end of of the use of the letter õ, but the Road Administration ordered it to be removed saying the sign was not the right size.

The Ö monument, which is visible during the day and night, was the resulting compromise. It is 5-meters tall and sits beside the Kuressaare-Kuivastu road. It was unveiled at a ceremony on Monday.

In July, when the plans for the statue were first announced, Taavi Pae, Associate Geography Professor in Estonia, told ERR: "There are many ways to joke about Saare's Ö-letter, but on the other hand, it shows how much it means to us and how it is part of our cultural identity. It is one of the hallmarks of Saaremaa residents. I think it highlights a lot in terms of the islanders and in terms of the Estonian dialect, that we still have such dialects and it is worth drawing attention to."

The municipality paid for the monument and the Road Administration (maaamet) will pay for the upkeep.

"Since there is a parking lot next to this new place and people can stop by and read the boards, then I think visitors take up an interest in learning about the sculpture. And since the story of the Ö-letter is interesting, I think it will become a tourist attraction," Pae said.

Allikas: ERR

The Kuressaare Town Hall, the second oldest in Estonia after its counterpart in the capital, recently celebrated its 350th birthday. It took 17 years to construct the town hall building and it was finished in 1670.

Despite its long history, the building has managed to keep secrets from today's city officials, "Aktuaalne kaamera" evening news reported on Saturday.

The town hall's 350 years of history were summed up in a short video installation that details the better and worse days of the fifth oldest building in Kuressaare.

The town hall has been largely rebuilt over the centuries, while its walls are without a doubt 350 years of age and its doors have seen around 300 years.

Mistress of the Kuressaare Town Council Gallery (Raegalerii) Lii Pihl said that the building has had other interesting functions in the past and some of its rooms have been used as detention cells. "Because the Town Council also had judicial duties back in the day, they were likely used to detain those who would be judged on the upper floors. The building has even served as a sobering-up station, although that came later," Pihl said.

In the middle of the Town Hall's cellar is a walled-in space with no door. Lii Pihl speculated that it might be empty or filled with dirt.

A message meant for councilmen from centuries ago is carved above the doors of the Kuressaare Town Hall. "He will always perform his duty for the benefit of the people by consulting the citizenry."

To what extent does the current local authority in Saaremaa observe this principle 350 years later?

Chairman of the Saaremaa Municipality Council Tiiu Aro said she hopes it is all the authority proceeds from. "Unfortunately, times have changed and brought new interest groups, meaning that it is very likely impossible to live up to the motto in full," Aro said.

Source: ERR

Airline NyxAir is to start operating flights between Tallinn and Saaremaa from December 21.

NyxAir has signed an agreement with the relevant authority, the Road Administration (Maanteeamet), after winning the tender to operate the route, replacing Lithuanian carrier Transaviabaltika.

Tickets are to go on sale no later than two weeks before the first flight is scheduled.

The timetable remains relatively unchanged on predecessor Transaviabaltika's, though morning flights from Kuressaare to Tallinn will be earlier, following complaints the half-hour flight touched down too late in the day in the capital.

Prices will remain approximately the same too, it is reported.

The aircraft itself will be a 48-seater turboprop ATR 42-500, offering significantly larger passenger capacity than the Jetstream 32s flying the route up to the present.

Transaviabaltika lost the contract as the terms of the new tender due to its aircraft being too old. A stipulation in the agreement required planes made no later than the year 2000.

The tender process was also subject to lengthy holdups due to appeals by Regional Jet, subsidiary of the state-owned Nordica which also wanted to operate the line, appealing the decision to award the contract to NyxAir.

Transaviabaltika had continued operating flights on a provisional basis while the appeal was going on.

Allikas: ERR