– Both Tromsø, Trondheim and Oslo have direct flights to Poland, but not Bodø. Monika Jonska (28) says so. She and roommate Przemyslaw Rybczyk (30) have been in Bodø for almost five years, but now they are on the move. The main reason is the poor air connections abroad, and especially Poland. Traveling home is both complicated and expensive. – It is difficult to see family and friends. I miss them. – We are not the only ones who left Bodø because of this. Almost all my Polish friends are leaving. It also made it easier to make this choice. On 1 May, the couple therefore quit their jobs at the Delikatessen restaurant and moved to Oslo. Such a change could have major consequences for Nordland. Do you think the trend will continue? It has not always been so difficult to get to Poland from Bodø. Only a couple of years ago, the much talked about airline Wizz Air had direct routes to, among other things, the Polish city of Gdansk. When they pulled out of Bodø in 2021 during the corona, it thus became more difficult for migrant workers to travel to their homeland. Only a couple of years ago, the much talked about airline Wizz Air had direct routes to, among other things, the Polish city of Gdansk. Photo: Wizz Air Figures from Statistics Norway show that Polish migrant workers are among the largest group of immigrants from countries outside the Nordic countries who settle in Norway. The number of immigrants from Poland increased the most last year. At the start of 2022, there were 105,500 Poles in Norway. According to Monika Jonska, Nordland is not benefiting from that development, due to the poor flight offer. – We have some new waiters here, and they struggle with the same thing. But because they study here, they choose to become pre-med. As soon as they are finished, I think they will leave them too, she says. And Nordland is already struggling to fill the jobs. Cry for labor According to Nav, Nordland is the county that struggles the most to get labor. They find that a full 26 per cent of companies in Nordland have no or too few qualified applicants for vacant positions. Nordland is crying out for residents and labour, and although employment is expected to increase in Nordland in the coming years, Salten is the area with the least optimism. Director of NHO Nordland, Daniel Bjarmann-Simonsen says labor immigration is important to get the workforce that Nordland and Northern Norway so badly need. – When labor immigration has now stopped and more people are moving back to their home country, the need for labor will be even less covered than it has been. He says they are working to retain and obtain migrant workers, but that more expensive plane tickets and stopovers make the journey home less accessible. Director of NHO Nordland, Daniel Bjarmann-Simonsen says it is not unique to Northern Norway that we lack people, but it is an even bigger problem here than in other places in Norway. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news – Availability means a lot. Airline ticket prices have gone up and flight offers have decreased after the corona pandemic. Along with the fact that it is expensive and difficult to travel home, Polish authorities are also working to bring their workers home with the help of tax benefits, according to Bjarmann-Simonsen. Last year, Statistics Norway came up with national population projections that show a decline in the population in Nordland of 2 per cent until 2050. – We can manage to change that forecast, if we manage to attract the workforce we need, he says. Direct flights = moving back But it is the airlines themselves that decide whether they want to start up routes. It is often based on demand from both passengers and freight, according to Oslo Lufthamn’s communications manager, Harald Nygaard Kvam. – Simply summed up, it is about whether a route will be profitable. Out of consideration for competition, airlines such as SAS do not usually enter into future plans for single destinations – But SAS’s route offer to and from Bodø is relatively stable as it is now. For SAS’s part, we are taking note of the recording, and can initially look over the timetable with a view to stopovers and favorable alternatives, says press manager at SAS, Tonje Sund. If it had been otherwise, the loved-up couple from Poland would have ended up in Bodø. – I love the city, the bright evenings were a big shock. It’s so amazing. Live so close to the sea and the mountain is amazing. Here we have everything in one place. And they hope there will be direct flights in the future. – If there are direct flights to Bodø, there is a good chance that we will move back, says Jonska. – If there are direct flights to Bodø, there is a good chance they will move back, says Jonska. Photo: Anette Tjemsland / news
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Monika left Nordland to get home more easily – calls for better flight deals – news Nordland
