Finland’s Aviation Industry Recovering at a Fast Pace

DALLAS - Finland's national airport operator Finnavia has reported that the country's aviation industry is recovering quickly.

"Recovery has begun strongly, especially on European flights. A total of 6.6 million passengers flew through our airports. Compared to last year, the number of passengers increased by 520 percent," said Finavia's Senior Vice President, Sales and Route Development, Petri Vuori.

Despite the positive outlook, the numbers are still significantly down compared to pre-pandemic levels. During the same period in 2019, 12.8 million passengers passed through Finnish airports.

In 2019, transfer traffic had grown at Helsinki Airport (HEL) by 15%. This was predominantly on routes to and from China, Germany, Japan and Sweden. Photo: Finavia.

Transfer Numbers Down

It also revealed that the number of transfer passengers, an important market for Finavia and flag-carrier Finnair (AY), was still down compared to other European airports. This was partly due to the closure of Russian airspace, which has affected the carrier's Asian routes significantly.

The operator also blamed COVID-19 restrictions, which remained in force until the end of June, which would have impacted transfer customers.

"Despite the low number of flights to Asia, Finavia's airports still offer access to some 130 destinations around the world. We are constantly working to ensure that our country maintains good connections and that the world is close to us Finns," Vuoiri added.

Domestic traffic has also recovered well across Finland. Photo: Finavia.

Helsinki Top of the Table

Helsinki Airport (HEL) remains the busiest of all of Finavia's facilities. In total, 5.5 million passengers used the airport between January and June, a 579% increase since 2021. Out of these, 85% were international passengers. The busiest routes were to Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

Domestic traffic levels at the country's regional airports have increased by 340%, totaling 1.1 million passengers.

Speaking of the domestic market, Vuori said, "Recovery in domestic traffic has been strong at airports that have already been busy. Nearly one million people already traveled on domestic flights during January–June. The number of chartered flights is also increasing."

Meanwhile, freight traffic also grew by 5.3%, with 85,000 tons of cargo and mail transported by air.

Featured Image: Helsinki Airport remains the busiest of the operator's airports. Photo: Finavia.