Nordica and Xfly encourage their employees to participate in national defence exercises
Estonia’s national aviation group, Nordic Aviation Group, which operates two airlines, Xfly and Nordica, has decided to support its staff participating in national defence exercises.
Jan Palmér, CEO of Nordic Aviation Group (NAG), said the decision was a landmark for the company. “The proposal to support employees on national defence exercises was made by one of our own employees. It was a worthy suggestion, because in today’s geopolitical situation, we must recognise, thank and support all those people who are prepared to play an active role in the defence of our country,” said Palmér. “I am sincerely pleased that we can make a contribution. By taking this step, we want to be a responsible employer and a good role model for other airlines across Europe.”
Anu Rannaveski, Director General of the Defence Resources Agency, said that Nordic Aviation Group’s decision to compensate its employees for their participation in national defence exercises with a salary is a commendable initiative and hopefully other companies will join the initiative in the future.
“Well-functioning cooperation between the defence forces and employers of reservists is one of the cornerstones of a broad-based national defence,” said Rannaveski.
Airi Kaunissaare, Marketing and Communications Manager of Nordica and Xfly, explained that the compensation scheme will remain in place for all national defence exercises now and in the future. “The newly introduced scheme has already brought success in the company – more of our employees are participating in Spring Storm (Kevadtorm) this year than in previous years. We encourage our people to take part and to register for the next ones. We also encourage all Estonian companies to help their employees to participate in the exercises.”
According to the decision, the NAG will reimburse the full salary of the participants.
The Estonian state-owned Nordic Aviation Group operates flights for other airlines under two brands – Xfly and Nordica – and already employs 700 aviation professionals across Europe. The airline has expanded to eight countries and has bases in Tallinn, Vilnius, Stockholm, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Turku, Lisbon, Sofia, Munich and Hamburg. The Group’s fleet already stands at 22 aircraft this year, divided between aircraft types such as the ATR72-600, CRJ900 and Airbus A320, as well as the modern and environmentally friendly Airbus A320neo. The company has signed long-term strategic cooperation agreements with SAS, TAP, Marabu and a seasonal contract with Cyprus Airways.
The Nordic Aviation Group is actively recruiting new specialists through its career portal jobs.nagroup.ee and is training new pilots under its MPL training programme.