TALLINK GRUPP STARTS SELLING TICKETS TO PASSENGERS TRAVELLING TO FINLAND AGAIN FROM TODAY, FIRST PASSENGERS TO FINLAND ALLOWED ON BOARD ON 14 MAY 2020

As a result of the decision made by the Finnish government yesterday (4 May 2020) to allow passenger transport to Finland on ferries again from 14 May 2020 for workers and people with unavoidable reasons for travel, Tallink Grupp will reopen ticket sales on Tuesday, 5 May 2020, for passengers wishing to travel to Finland. Ticket sales for passengers from Finland have remained open throughout the state of emergency period.

In this changed environment Tallink Grupp will also return its other shuttle vessel Star to the Tallinn-Helsinki route for peak weekend departures from Friday, 15 May 2020.

During the month of May Star will operate according to the below schedule only: 

• 15 May 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
• 17 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki;
• 20 May (Helatorstai) 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
• 24 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki;
• 29 May 13.30 Helsinki-Tallinn, 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki, 19.30 Helsinki-Tallinn;
• 31 May 16.30 Tallinn-Helsinki.

Megastar will continue to operate on the Tallinn-Helsinki route according to its normal schedule.

Passenger transport on ferries to Finland was suspended on 11 April 2020 at the request of the Finnish  government in order to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As the pandemic situation has improved, the Finnish government adopted a decision at yesterday’s cabinet meeting to restore passenger traffic with ferries to Finland for the Schengen area citizens, who need to travel to Finland for work reasons or for other unavoidable reasons. Border control on the Finnish borders will remain in place also after 14 May until further notice from the Finnish government and the Finnish authorities will work out and publicise information regarding the detailed rules and guidance for border crossing from 14 May onwards in the next few days. Travel four tourism purposes to Finland is currently still not permitted and decisions regarding allowing travel to Finland for tourism will be made by the Finnish government in due course as the pandemic situation improves further.  People travelling to Finland must still follow the strict hygiene and health rules and restrictions.

„We welcome the Finnish government’s decision, which will allow many Estonians working in Finland to return to work or to their families from next week. It is clear that as the virus situation improves, we must start moving towards restarting our economies and our work lives, and in today’s world, where our economies are so intertwined with those of our neighbouring countries,  it is important to gradually remove restrictions on free movement to restart our economies,“ Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp commented.

According to Nõgene the group’s vessels are ready and prepared for the gradual and safe return of services and the company has been working closely with the authorities over the last few weeks already to achieve this.

„Many of the safety measures were already in place on our vessels still in operation before the crisis escalated and in the near future we will continue to enhance and introduce even more measures according to our agreements with the authorities and our partners.  It is clear that the numbers of passengers will not be the same as they were before the crisis and not all our vessels will return to all the routes straight away. The Finnish government’s decision is a small step forward and here at Tallink we will of course synchronise our steps with those of our governments,“ Nõgene added.

From today, passengers who need to travel to Finland for work or for other unavoidable reasons, can purchase tickets to Finland for Tallink Grupp’s vessels Megastar, Star, Baltic Princess and Galaxy for departures starting from 14 May 2020. Tickets for departures travelling out of Finland can be purchased for all the current departures as previously.

All the above is valid unless new decisions are made by our governments or authorities, which may require further changes and updates to services.

Some of the measures implemented on board Tallink Grupp’s vessels and at the Port of Tallinn to ensure safety of employees and passengers:

• On board vessels and in terminals disinfectant stations are in place in order to follow strict hygiene rules.
• More thorough and frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces on board vessels and in terminals is taking place.
• All passenger vessels will only take a maximum of half of the total vessel capacity on board for any departure to ensure enough space is provided on board to keep passengers 2 metres apart from each other.
• In order to disperse passengers on board and in terminals and galleries, distance markers will be created on the floors and signage put on the walls;
• In ship shops and catering areas, maximum capacity levels have been established and will be followed.
• In catering areas (including kitchens, restaurants, cafes, etc) personnel will wear face masks during the initial period of restoration of services.