Estonian flag carrier Nordica ceases flying under its own colours

Estonia’s national airline, Nordica, will give up operating commercial flights in its own name for the foreseeable future, blaming overcapacity at its home hub at Tallinn Airport. Nordica will continue to operate public service obligation flights (the European equivalent of US Essential Air Services program) and will use its fleet for ACMI services on behalf of other carriers. The airline will cease selling tickets for flights after Oct 26. Under an agreement with LOT, the Polish company will take over the management of ticket sales and customer service, while Nordica will focus solely on operating flights. The two airlines already have an extensive cooperation agreement and LOT is a 49% shareholder in Nordica subsidiary Regional Jet, which provides flights for a variety of European airlines. <br/>