During the spring, work has been intensive within the FAIR electric flight project and especially between Skellefteå Airport (SFT) and Kokkola-Jakobstad Airport (KOK) to establish a new regular flight route.
On Thursday, June 9, the actors gathered at both airports to hold two press conferences to announce the new collaboration, the background to the collaboration, and to publish the schedules for the regular and direct flights between Kokkola-Jakobstad, Skellefteå and Umeå.
The routes will be operated from August 15th this year, with two routes per week, on Mondays and Tuesdays. The routes will initially be flown with a plane that can accommodate nineteen passengers.
– With this measure, we are taking a concrete step towards preparing the region for electric flights. Initially, we will offer fossil-free fuel for those who want to reduce the climate of their journey. From 2024, we expect to be able to switch completely to biofuel. A few years after that, we hope to be able to start operating the route with electric flights. Preparing the region for electric flights in this way is one of the measures advocated by the electric flight project FAIR, says Robert Lindberg, Managing Director, Skellefteå Airport.
The electric flight project FAIR has conducted extensive studies in the area. One thing that stands out is that demand must be built up over a longer period of time to gain traction for a flight route. A fully established route is seen as one of the important preparations before electric flights are on the market. Electric flights for regional routes will be on the market within 5 years.
– Action is needed today with an eye on the future. There is already a lot of collaboration between the regions and a need to further improve east-west connections. In addition, the Kvarken region and the Nordic region are at the center of an enormous transformation with historically large investments in industry. This leads to greater demand for accessibility for both companies, employees and the region's residents. A functioning regional electric aviation network can help meet some of this demand, describes Evelina Fahlesson (S), municipal councilor, Skellefteå municipality.
The societal benefit, the green transition to reduce CO2 emissions and to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels, and the gain in travel time are driving and are seen as the major benefits. The geopolitical situation in the world has made the ambition even more urgent.
– Biofuel, for example, is important in the short term, until electric flights are on the market, both in terms of reduced CO2 emissions, but also in building up demand and thus production of biofuels, he adds. Robert Lindberg.
Peter Bostrom (SFP), Chairman of the Board of the Jakobstad Region Development Company Concordia and Board Member of the Kvarken Council EGTC urges the region's stakeholders;
– It is important that municipalities, regions, development companies, universities, businesses and the like ensure that the airline is utilized. Partly to further increase cooperation and to give the airline long-term viability. But also so that we can evaluate the electrified short-haul network of the future, which we believe the Kvarken region is in great need of,
– This initiative also strengthens regional branding. We want to see our region as a pioneering region where we not only talk about the green transition, but we also have the industry that manufactures and develops products and goods in the area and the region's actors also use and apply these in practice, says Mathias Lindstrom, Director, Kvarken Council EGTS and the FAIR project representative and adds;
– We already have the world's most environmentally friendly ferry that is both gas and battery-powered and uses locally developed technology – soon also the first biofuel flight and later a cross-border electric flight that connects the Nordic battery belt.
The airline Jonair will start the route. In the implementation, the regional airports are important;
– Without regional airports, it is impossible to improve accessibility. Closing down small and smaller airports today would be counterproductive when we see that electric flights will revolutionize flying and when new flight patterns will be created. This is because electric flights show a great potential benefit to society in the form of travel time savings and reduced CO2 emissions, says Stig-Goran Forsman, Managing Director, FAB Kronoby Aircraft Hangar.
– Electric operation can mean drastically reduced fuel and maintenance costs, which means that operating costs will be very competitive and thus provide opportunities for a completely new regional air traffic. Welcome to the future – it is being created now and here, concludes Robert Lindberg.
For more information, contact:
Robert Lindberg, +46 70 551 70 75, Managing Director, Skellefteå Airport
Stig-Göran Forsman, +358 44 236 14 59, Managing Director, FAB Kronoby Aircraft Hangar
Mathias Lindström, +358 50 918 64 62, Director, Kvarken Council EGTC
Facts
Traffic starts on August 15, 2022
Each flight goes Umeå – Kokkola – Skellefteå – Kokkola – Umeå.
The flight will be operated with a KingAir 190 C with space for 19 passengers.
Flights will initially operate on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Prices from 495 SEK one-way ticket
Trips can be booked at www.jonair.se
Kvarken Council EGTC
The Kvarken Council is a collaboration platform for all types of cross-border cooperation in the Kvarken region.
The Kvarken Council's area of operation is called the Kvarken Region and covers the three Ostrobothnian provinces in Finland and the provinces of Västerbotten and Västernorrland in Sweden. The Kvarken Council's members, which consist of municipalities, regional associations, provincial associations, development companies and other organizations, are located throughout the region.
The Kvarken Council put its new organizational form, EGTC, into use at the turn of the year 2020–2021. In 2022, the Kvarken Council and thus the official cooperation across the Kvarken region will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Get to know the Kvarkenrådet EGTC and its activities:www.kvarken.org
FAIR is a first step towards a rapid implementation of sustainable aviation in the Kvarken region in Sweden and Finland, as well as Helgeland in Norway. The project increases knowledge about electric aviation, investigates the possibilities and maps both needs and the technical investments needed.
Read moreflyfairkvarken.com
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