Tallink Grupp suspends Turku-Tallinn route

The cruise ship operator Tallink Grupp on Monday decided to suspend the Turku-Tallinn route, which was temporarily launched in early July this year, said an official press release.

The company’s vessel Baltic Queen was due to continue to operate one return trip on the route every weekend at least until the end of this year.

“As a direct result of significant information noise and mixed messages circulating in the Finnish media regarding the latest travel advice, the ticket sales of ferry companies have significantly reduced, as passengers are confused about the travel advice and nervous about purchasing tickets from the fear that they will face the possibility of a quarantine at a very short notice if they do travel. This has resulted in great numbers of customers cancelling their trips for the months ahead and requesting refunds,” Tallink Grupp CEO Paavo Nõgene said in a statement.

“After detailed analysis of the forecasts and our best current estimates of how the pandemic and travel restrictions situation are likely to unfold in the coming weeks and months, we have today made the decision to cancel the plans we had for operating the Tallinn-Turku route this autumn and winter and to suspend this route already from this Friday, 28 August. This is to ensure that we take the necessary action as early as possible and thus limit any potential losses that would result from delaying this decision,” Nõgene added.

Passengers who have purchased a ticket for this Friday, 28 August to travel from Aland to Tallinn will be transferred to the company’s vessel Baltic Queen, which will pick them up from Marienhamn port in Aland en route back to Tallinn from Stockholm.

All other passengers with bookings for the Turku-Tallinn route sailings will be contacted by the company regarding the cancellations as soon as possible.