Estonia's addiction to mobile phones was confirmed by statistics showing a 24 percent increase in call time. Statistics Estonia said 466 million minutes of calls were made in the first quarter of 2007 's a 24 percent increase on the same period last year. The total number of calls increased by 11 percent to 388 million, while SMS messages increased by 16 percent to 51 million in the first quarter.
Low passenger demand has forced Estonian Air to cut a number of flights to Paris and Barcelona. The airline said it would reduce the number of weekly flights to Paris from four to three. The Barcelona route will also lose one weekly flight, and will be stopped completely during the winter. Estonian Air said seasonal variations were to blame.
Tallinn Airport is hoping to lure more airlines by offering discount landing fees to new operators. Airlines will be offered reductions in their first three years, starting at 60 percent and ending at 20 percent in the third year. The deal was negotiated with Enterprise Estonia, which hopes to lure more tourists to Tallinn. Airlines such as Ryanair have been involved in negotiations for landing fee reductions.
The Defense Ministry has opened a book of condolences for the two soldiers killed in Afghanistan on June 23. (See article Page 1). The book can also be signed electronically. The address is
www.mod.gov.ee
