"We have never let go of the idea of a route to Gdansk," says Robert Lindberg, CEO of Skellefteå Airport.
Plans for a direct route from Skellefteå to Gdansk in Poland have been in the works for some time. Gdansk now has a direct connection to Skellefteå thanks to the establishment of the battery company's energy storage factory, Northvolt Dwa, in Gdansk.
In February 2020, the Hungarian airline Wizz Air announced plans to launch a route between Skellefteå and Gdansk. The start date was postponed a number of times, and it was finally announced that the route would not be implemented.
– Gdansk is an important aviation hub. We never gave up on the idea. The pandemic came and Wizz Air withdrew, but we've been working on parallel tracks all the time, Robert Lindberg tells Norran.
He notes that the Polish tourist authority now sees the new route as an opportunity to promote Poland in northern Sweden.
– The new route creates an opportunity to present Poland as a destination to all residents in the northern part of Sweden. We look forward to being more present in Västerbotten and Norrbotten with our marketing activities, but we are also confident that more and more Polish tourists will come to explore this beautiful part of Sweden, says Małgorzata Hudyma, Director Nordic Countries Polish Tourism, in a press release.
The launch in Skellefteå is Ryanair's only direct international route in northern Sweden, with departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays.