GALLERY: Close to 200 top biathletes arrive at Tartu Airport

Most of the athletes competing in the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup stage in Otepää

from 12–15 March this week arrived on a charter flight Joensuu–Tartu. In total, three

special flights landed at Tartu Airport, where the arriving national teams were

welcomed by the event mascot Otto.

This is the first time that athletes participating in a major international competition have

arrived via Tartu Airport. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) had already planned to

transport athletes from the Kontiolahti World Cup stage in Finland to Estonia by charter

flights, while the idea to land specifically at Tartu Airport came from the Otepää Organizing

Committee. “I am pleased that Tartu Airport embraced our idea and helped create a strong

reference for the future. Guests attending major international events do not have to arrive

only via Tallinn – Tartu can also serve as an entry point. This could open up new

opportunities for hosting major sporting events and conferences,” said Tarmo Kärsna,

President of the Estonian Biathlon Federation.

The solution also made travel more convenient for athletes and teams, reducing lengthy bus

journeys ahead of a demanding competition week. “The time savings for athletes are

significant, as the journey from Tallinn to Otepää takes more than two and a half hours.

Athletes who were still competing in Finland yesterday were able to arrive in Otepää quickly

today and begin their recovery and preparations,” Kärsna explained. “Our initial plan was for

athletes to move directly from the aircraft to the buses. However, as biathletes travel with

their rifles, standard airport procedures had to be followed for security reasons.

Nevertheless, the arrangement worked well overall,” Kärsna noted.

Roman Kulikov, Operations Manager of Tartu Airport, said the entire process ran smoothly

from the airport’s perspective. “We did not need to make many adjustments on our side. The

main task was to schedule additional staff, but as the flights had been planned well in

advance, this was easily arranged. Overall, it was a very good test for Tartu Airport,” Kulikov

said. “At first, the biggest challenge seemed to be unloading the luggage quickly, but the use

of the baggage carousel made the process significantly easier,” he added. On Monday, 16

March, the athletes will depart from Tartu on charter flights to Oslo, where the final World

Cup stage of the season will be held.