Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Finavia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Helsinki metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Aviapolis,Vantaa,Finland | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | July 1952; 73 years ago (1952-07) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Elevation AMSL | 55 m / 179 ft | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 60°19′02″N024°57′48″E / 60.31722°N 24.96333°E /60.31722; 24.96333 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
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  HEL/EFHK Location within Finland Show map of Finland HEL/EFHK HEL/EFHK (Scandinavia) Show map of Scandinavia HEL/EFHK HEL/EFHK (Europe) Show map of Europe | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (Finnish:Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema,Swedish:Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats)[1] (IATA:HEL,ICAO:EFHK), or simplyHelsinki Airport, is the maininternational airport servingHelsinki, the capital ofFinland, as well as its surroundingmetropolitan area, and theUusimaa region in Finland. The airport is located in the neighbouring city ofVantaa, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) west ofTikkurila, the administrative centre of Vantaa and 9.2 NM (17.0 km; 10.6 mi) north[1] of Helsinki's city centre. The airport is operated by state-ownedFinavia.[2] The facility covers a total of 1,800hectares (4,448acres) of land and contains three runways.[3]
The airport is by far thebusiest in Finland (with 20 times the traffic of the next-busiest,Rovaniemi) and thefourth busiest in theNordic countries in terms of passenger numbers. About 90% of Finland's international air traffic passes through Helsinki Airport.[4] In 2023, Helsinki Airport had a total of 15.3 million passengers, 88% of whom were international passengers and 12% domestic passengers.[5] On average, the airport handles around 350 departures a day.[4]
The airport is the main hub forFinnair, the flag carrier of Finland, and its subsidiaryNordic Regional Airlines. It is also a hub forCityJet (on behalf ofSAS) and an operating base forJettime,Norwegian Air Shuttle,Sunclass Airlines andTUI fly Nordic. Helsinki Airport has around 25 regularly-operating airlines. The airport has around 80 scheduled destinations to other parts of Europe and 21 direct long-haul routes to Asia, the Middle East, and North America. There are also 35 charter destinations including numerous long-haul charter destinations.[6][7]
Originally built for the1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the airport today provides jobs for 25,000 people and 1,500 companies operate at the airport.[8][9]
Finavia aims to strengthen the position of Helsinki Airport in transit passenger traffic between Europe and Asia, and to increase the number of direct connections to Europe.[10] Helsinki Airport's minimum transit time of 35 minutes is among the shortest in Europe.[11] According to Finavia's survey, as many as one in every three passengers select their flight route based on the transit airport.[12]
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The planning of a new airport for Helsinki began in the 1940s, when it became obvious that theHelsinki-Malmi Airport could not handle the increasing number of passengers or the new, heavier aircraft. A new site was found some 20 km (12 mi) from Helsinki city centre, in an area that today belongs to the city of Vantaa (until 1971 Vantaa was calledHelsinginmaalaiskunta). Some of the construction work was done by prison laborers.[13] The airport opened temporarily in July 1952 forthat year's Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki.[14]
The first twoAero OyDC-3 aircraft, OH-LCCTiira with its captainOlli Puhakka and first officer Pertti Uuksulainen, and OH-LCDLokki, landed in Vantaa on 26 June 1952, and the first scheduled international airplane to land on the airport was the DC-6 BTorgil Viking ofScandinavian Airlines on 26 October 1952. While Aero (now Finnair) usedHelsinki-Malmi Airport, charter flights were directed to the new airport on 26 October 1952. The airport originally had a single runway, the second runway being built four years later in 1956, and the first airplane hangar was also built in the same year. The airport also received its firstradar in the same year.[13] Regular jet flight operations began in 1959.
A new passenger terminal opened in 1969, while the first transatlantic service toNew York was inaugurated on 15 May 1969. A contiguous fence around the entire airport area was built in spring 1973.[15]
During this time period, the airport was also calledSeutula Airport after the nearby villageSeutula.[16][17]
The year 1973 saw the first security checks being carried out for international flights. The name Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was used from 1977, with the airport being known as the Helsinki Airport before this.[18] The postal code of the airport was01530 Helsinki-Lento until 1974,01530 Helsinki-Vantaa-Lento from 1974 to 1983 and01530 Vantaa from 1983 onwards.
TheFinnish Defence Forces surrounded the airport in late autumn 1977, in order to protect the airport from a possible terrorist strike by theRed Army Faction.[19]
In 1983, the airport began offering the first non-stop service from Western Europe to Japan asFinnair commenced regular service between Helsinki andTokyo with a singleMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER. In the 1970s,Pan Am operated flights from Helsinki to the US. The passenger terminal was expanded for the first time in 1983 and five years later, in 1988, the airport handled over six million passengers annually.[citation needed]
In 1991,Delta Air Lines began its operations at the airport. A new terminal was constructed for domestic flights in 1993. In 1996, the international terminal was expanded and merged with the domestic terminal. At the same time, the new control tower was completed. In 1997, a new VIP President terminal was opened for official international state visits. In November 1999, the international terminal was further expanded and the lobby for arriving and departing passengers was built.
A historical event in 2000 was that the annual number of visitors to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport surpassed 10 million.[20] Approach traffic control moved from the so-called "cave" into its new overground premises.
New border controls of theSchengen Agreement were taken into use in 2001. The third runway was inaugurated on 28 November 2002 and the first user wasFinnair'sMcDonnell Douglas MD-11 en route toNew York. In 2004, the international terminal was again expanded and a new shopping area was opened for long-haul passengers. A new air cargo service was opened for passengers with overweight luggage. 24 new automatic check-in terminals were taken into use in 2006.[21]
On 13 August 2007 a newHilton hotel, Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was opened near the airport, with 330 rooms.[22][23] Independent use of parallel runways started in November 2007.[24]
A free-of-chargeWLAN network was opened at the airport on 25 November 2008.[25]
In autumn 2009, the airport saw a great deal of industrial action, as Finavia outsourced check-in security controls. The security controls were moved over to the cleaning and building service concern SOL. The labour agreements also changed. SOL started co-operation negotiations for 80 employees in January 2010. Outsourcing the security services had a positive impact on Finavia's economy, as this allowed the company to reach significant cost savings during the first half of 2010 compared to the second half of the previous year. This was largely because of the outsourcing of the security services at the Helsinki Airport.[26] In late 2012, the Labour Court of Finland gave a statement that the security services at the airport were under the labour agreement of the security guard industry. After this, SOL terminated its contract, to end at the end of 2014 in the middle of its contract period.[27]
Finnair outsourced its baggage handling services from its daughter company Northport to Barona Handling in November to December 2009, after which the baggage handling employees went on an illegal strike for four days. During New Year from 2009 to 2010, thousands of bags lay untouched at the airport, inaccessible to their owners. According to the employees, there were one tenth less people handling the loading of the baggage than before. The Aviation Union accused Barona of neglecting safety regulations when unloading the accumulated pile of baggage during the industrial action.[28] In January 2010, theFinnish News Agency wrote that some of the employees had sent baggage to the wrong destination on purpose.[29][30][31] In 2009, the airport dropped out of the list of the Airport Service Quality research.[32]
In 2009, an expansion of Terminal 2 was completed. The total floor area was 43,908 square metres (472,620 sq ft). The same year witnessed the opening of a new shopping area and spa for passengers on long-haul flights, the removal of a terminal-specific division between domestic and international flights in favour a division by airline, and the renovation of Terminal 1 for international flights.[33] In the same year,TAP Air Portugal commenced service between Helsinki and Lisbon.
Five new passenger bridges forwide-body aircraft were opened in 2009. The spa was closed down in 2012 because of lack of use.[34] In 2011, the annual number of passengers at the airport grew by 15.5% to 14.9 million passengers. About 25% of passengers were transferring to a connecting flight at the airport. 12.2 million passengers were on international flights and 2.7 million on domestic flights. A total of 1.63 million passengers were on flights toAsia.[35]
During the 2010s, Helsinki Airport experienced large increases in the number of annual passengers. In 2010, the airport handled 12,883,399 passengers, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to 2009. Air freight increased by 29.4 percent.
In April 2010,Norwegian Air Shuttle opened its first routes toOslo andStockholm usingBoeing 737 jets. Now the airline is one of the largest operators at the airport with almost 40 destinations in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 2011, Helsinki Airport saw its biggest growth in a single year in the number of passengers. The number of annual passengers was increased by 2 million passengers and the airport reached the milestone of 14 million passengers. However,easyJet canceled three routes, from Helsinki to Manchester, London–Gatwick, and Paris–Charles de Gaulle, citing weak demand at Helsinki.[36]
In November 2011,Austrian Airlines canceled its Vienna–Helsinki operations. In the same year,Czech Airlines ceased its Helsinki operations due to low demand.[citation needed] A year after,LOT Polish Airlines canceled its service to Helsinki. In 2014, a number of airlines such asAer Lingus,Germanwings, andS7 Airlines canceled services to Helsinki.[citation needed]
In the 2010s, the airport saw a huge growth of long-haul flights in terms of weekly flights (seeLong-haul traffic below).
In the beginning of 2015, the renovation and construction work related to the development of Helsinki Airport started. For example, the Baggage Claim Hall 2B and Arrival Hall 2A were renovated and in July 2015, train operation on theRing Rail Line and connection to Helsinki Central Railway Station were opened. In March 2015,Swiss International Air Lines started operations to Helsinki but canceled it a year later. In late 2015,Blue1 ceased all operations from Helsinki which was the airline's only base. The airline flew to 28 destinations in Europe.Scandinavian Airlines sold Blue1 toCityJet, which continues to operate the company on behalf of SAS as part of a larger relationship.[37] In 2015, the airport handled up to 16 million passengers for the first time. In March 2016, Czech Airlines resumed flights from Prague to Helsinki usingAirbus A319 aircraft. On 10 October 2016, the first Gulf carrierQatar Airways began operations at the airport and now operates to Helsinki byBoeing 787 Dreamliner. The carrier was initially planning to launch the service as early as 2012. Finavia expects that the airport will handle over 18.5 million passengers in 2017 and around 20 million in 2018, or in 2019 at the latest.[citation needed] Also in 2017, the airport experienced huge growth in numbers of passengers flying intercontinental.[citation needed]
As of 2013,Finavia has been expanding the airport (seeFuture expansion below).
Life in HEL (#lifeinhel) was a Finavia marketing campaign which took place from 10 October to 9 November 2017 at Helsinki Airport. The campaign mixed TV, game shows, and social media. Ryan Zhu, a Chinese actor and TV personality, lived in a little cabin inside Helsinki Airport for 30 days. Helsinki Airport was awarded the title of best airport in the world by Travellink; by the campaign, Finavia wanted to prove this claim.[38]
A new terminal expansion was opened in 2012. The terminals 1 and 2 were combined on 21 June 2022 so that all flights are now operated from a single terminal.[39][40]
In 2024, Helsinki Airport was named the best airport in Northern Europe for the seventh time, based on Skytrax’s global survey covering feedback from over 550 airports.[41]
In spring 2010, a new baggage handling centre utilising the latest technology was taken into use at the airport, concentrating all handling of departing and transferring baggage. Handling of arriving baggage remains at its current handling facility.[citation needed]
The parts of the airport that were completed in 1969 and 1983 were thoroughly renovated. Basic repairs were completed in 2012.[citation needed]
Runway 3 (22R/04L) was repaired from April to June 2012, during which time the runway was out of use. After this the taxiway next to runway 2 (15/33) was repaired, during which time runway 2 served as a temporary taxiway. The repairs were completed in September 2012.[42]
The main runway 04R/22L was repaired in summer 2015 and was reopened in early August.[43]
TheHelsinki Airport station was opened on 10 July 2015.[44] TheRing Rail Line connects theHelsinki–Riihimäki railway in the north with the Vantaankoski railway in the west. The trip from the airport to the Helsinki Central station takes about half an hour, and the trip toTikkurila railway station takes about ten minutes. The Helsinki Airport station was built underground between the parking garages P3A and P1/P2. The station has a walking connection to the connecting corridor between terminals 1 and 2.
Expansion of the terminals started in early 2016 from the southern wing of the long-distance flight area, which was completed in summer 2017. After this, construction of the western wing was started, which was completed in autumn 2019.[45] Expansion of terminal 1 was also started in 2017, giving the terminal an additional 3,500 square metres of floor area.[46] Terminal 1 was lengthened by 230 metres and gained seven new departure gates.[47]
As part of the development program, a new parking garage was also opened, with a connection to the terminal. The new parking garage is equipped with solar panels, and it has an area for recharging 200 electric cars. The development program also included about 2000 new parking places.
Expansion of the terminal is undergoing to the north of the terminal building, including expansion of the number of commercial services, gates and docks for airplanes. The expansion also includes improvement of passenger connections to the terminal. The expansion was taken into use in late 2021.
The development program was completed in September 2023. Before this, new lobbies for departing and arriving passengers and a connecting travel centre were taken into use. Also the old departure lobby of Terminal 2 will be changed into part of the Schengen gate area, expanding the size of the area considerably.
During New Year 2020 to 2021, a three-year repair project of the station level was completed, not included in the development program. The purpose of the repair project, which cost 32 million euro, is to ensure the safety of taxiing and parking the airplanes and to improve the capacity and effectiveness of air traffic. The infrastructure of the station level will be modernised, allowing a further decrease of environmental impacts of air traffic.[citation needed]
A two-partAvia Pilot building with 13 floors was built within walking distance of the terminal, with Finavia as its main tenant.[48] In early 2018, a newScandic Hotels hotel with 148 rooms was opened in the building. This is the third hotel in the immediate vicinity of the airport.[49]
Since 21st June 2021, the airport operates from a single terminal divided into Schengen & Non-Schengen sections. The terminal capacity of the airport is approximately 16–17 million passengers per year.[50]
Domestic flights, flights to European Schengen countries are operated from gates 5–36. Long-haul and European non-Schengen flights are operated from gates 37–55.[51]
In 2014, Helsinki Airport introduced the world's first passenger tracking system,[52] which automatically monitors crowd congestion and prevents bottlenecks at the airport.[52]
The airport's signage is inEnglish,Finnish,Swedish,Korean,Chinese,Japanese, andRussian.
Current terminal (former Terminal 2) opened in 1969 for international operations and, at present, also serves domestic flights. The non-Schengen area of the terminal was enlarged in 2009 enabling the airport to accommodate eight wide-body aircraft at gates simultaneously while a new shopping area and a spa were opened for passengers on long-distance flights, and the division between domestic and international flights was removed. Terminal 2 has many restaurants, bars and shopping areas. The terminal is equipped with 26 aircraft parking stands with passenger bridges. The terminal has a train connection toHelsinki Central railway station.
Passenger facilities include numerous tax-free shops,Avis,Europcar andHertz-car rentals, free wirelessInternet access, power sockets, lockers, sleeping pods and transfer service desks. Currency exchange, cash machines (ATM), tourist information and anAlepa grocery store and pharmacy are also available. For children, there are also several playrooms. Dining facilities includeBurger King andO'Learys Sports Bar as well as numerous other restaurants and cafés. Terminal 2 also includes twoFinnair lounges: Finnair Lounge in the Schengen-area and Finnair Premium Lounge in the non-Schengen area.
As a part of Helsinki Airport's expansion plan, the new South Pier was inaugurated in June 2017 and Aukio in February 2019. The new pier features moving walkways and dual boarding jet bridges to enable handling larger aircraft more efficiently. In November 2019, the West Pier opened and it is able to accommodate theAirbus A380 superjumbo. Five of the gates are able to accommodate two regional jets, such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s, simultaneously at a single gate.[53] Passengers arriving and departing are divided into two floors: one for arriving passengers, the other for departures. In June 2016, the new bus terminal for remote aircraft stand operations was opened to increase the airport's capacity with gates 50A-M.
There are several airport hotels and office buildings on the grounds of the airport. TheAviapolis is a new internationalbusiness park adjacent to the Helsinki airport area, already hosting the operations of numerous companies around the airport. In 2013,Finnair opened its new head office, known as House of Travel and Transportation, or "HOTT". The construction of HOTT began in July 2011 and finished on time in June 2013.
Airpro, Aviator, andSwissport provide ground handling services for airlines.
Helsinki Airport has three runways. The runways can handle take-offs and landings of the heaviest aircraft in use today such as theAirbus A380. The use of three runways allows two runways to be kept in operation when clearing of snow and ice is needed (if one runway is being cleared at a time).[54][55]
| Number | Runway direction/code | Length (in metres and feet) | ILS[56] | Surface | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04R/22L | 3,500 m 11,483 ft | Cat. II (both directions) | Asphalt | The first runway at the airport |
| 2 | 15/33 | 2,901 m 9,518 ft | Cat. I (15) | Asphalt | 15 used for propeller and low visibility departures. 33 only used during strong winds from NW. |
| 3 | 04L/22R | 3,060 m 10,039 ft | Cat. III (04L) | Asphalt | Inaugurated on 28 November 2002 |
There are about twenty different runway combinations in use. The primary runway for landings is Runway 2 (15) from the northwest, i.e. from the direction ofNurmijärvi, or Runway 1 (22L) from the northeast, i.e., from the direction ofKerava, while the primary runway for take-offs is Runway 3 (22R) towards the southwest, in the direction of Western Vantaa and Espoo. Aircraft with low noise can take off from Runway 1 (22L) towards the south at the same time. When the wind is from the north or east, Runway 3 (04L) or Runway 1 (04R) are usually used for landings, i.e., for approaches from the southwest, the direction of Western Vantaa and Espoo, while take-offs are made from Runway 1 (04R) towards the northeast in the direction of Kerava.
During the night time, landings are primarily made using Runway 2 (15) from the northwest, i.e., from the direction of Nurmijärvi, and take-offs using Runway 3 (22R) towards the southwest, in the direction of Espoo. Jet plane landings to Runway 2 (33) from the southeast and take-offs from Runway 2 (15) towards the southeast are avoided due to dense population in the affected areas. During night time, propeller plane operations towards the southeast are also prohibited unless otherwise dictated by air traffic safety. Air traffic safety is the main reason for not always being able to choose the optimal runway for noise control.[57]
In October 2012, Finavia implemented Airport CDM (Collaborative Decision Making) at Helsinki Airport. It is a procedure byEurocontrol, the European Organization for Safety of Air Navigation, that develops airport operation by increasing co-operation between partners at the airport.[58] Airport CDM aims to reduce costs, achieve lower emissions, improve punctuality of operations and increase customer satisfaction at the airport. Helsinki Airport was the seventh European and first Northern European airport to adopt the program.[59]
Helsinki Airport is connected to over 140 destinations worldwide and over 50 countries by passenger services. Helsinki Airport has around 50 airlines operating regularly. In addition, there are numerous charter airlines operating at the airport. The airport is the main hub for Finnair, that operates over 1100 flights weekly to Europe, Asia, and North America. The airport is also used as an operating base for Norwegian Air Shuttle, and the low-cost airline operates over 230 flight weekly to elsewhere in Europe as well as theUnited Arab Emirates andMorocco.[citation needed]
The following airlines maintain hub or base operations at Helsinki Airport:[citation needed]
Passenger numbers have been growing rapidly since 2010, but especially since 2014. In 2017, Helsinki Airport experienced the third highest growth rate and the second biggest increase in passenger numbers in the last 20 years. On 13 December 2017, the airport reached the milestone of 18 million passengers for the first time ever.[citation needed]
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Helsinki Airport has been one of the busiest airports among the Nordic countries by freight handled. In 2012, the airport handled 192,204 tonnes cargo making the airport the largest one in the Nordics in terms of tonnes of cargo handled that year.[citation needed]
Helsinki Airport has extensive cargo flight activity. There is a cargo area with cargo terminals and cargo transit facilities in the southeastern part of the airport area.ASL Airlines Belgium (formerlyTNT Airways) andDHL have their own cargo terminals at the airport. Currently scheduled cargo operating airlines areAirBridgeCargo Airlines operated with Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, ASL Airlines Belgium, DHL Aviation (operated by EAT Leipzig and DHL Air UK),FedEx,UPS Airlines, andTurkish Airlines that operates cargo services to HEL from Istanbul, Oslo, and Stockholm with Airbus A310F and A330F aircraft. In addition to scheduled cargo operations, many other cargo airlines have random operations at Helsinki Airport.[citation needed]
The construction of a new freight terminal (35,000 m2 or 380,000 sq ft) began in March 2015 and was inaugurated on 8 January 2018. The capacity of the terminal is 350,000 tonnes but the theoretical capacity is up to 450,000 tonnes. The freight capacity of the airport is being expanded to accommodate the growing freight capacity that will be provided byFinnair'sAirbus A350 XWB fleet. Finnair's freight operations continued in the previous location until relocation to the new freight terminal in December 2017.[61] The name of the new terminal is Cool Nordic Cargo Hub, but is branded COOL for its modern technology and capacity to handle high volumes of temperature-controlled cargo. A new operations monitoring and tracking platform, "Cargo Eye", is used in the new freight terminal. That gives the new Cargo Control Center a live view of what is happening across the cargo network and where everything is located.[62] The terminal has 29 stands for truck transports.[63]
The airport's first long-haul route began on 15 May 1969 when Finnair commenced flights toNew York City via Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The first non-stop route to East Asia started in 1983 with Finnair's flight to Tokyo, with Beijing following five years later.[citation needed]
Today[when?] 36 intercontinental routes to North America, Asia, and the Middle East operate from Helsinki Airport. Long-haul traffic is a major part of the airport's operations, in large part thanks toFinnair, the largest carrier at the airport. Helsinki Airport is an important transfer airport between Europe and Asia. In 2018, Helsinki Airport handled approximately 3.7 million transfer passengers, which was 21.0% more than in 2017.[64] At the beginning of 2018, over 140 weekly flights were flown directly from Helsinki to Asia.[65]
Finnair andJapan Airlines had long been the only carriers flying to Asia from Helsinki, but in 2019,Tibet Airlines,Juneyao Airlines andSichuan Airlines launched non-stop flights fromJinan,Shanghai andChengdu respectively.[66][67][68] Helsinki Airport offers far fewer flights to North America.[citation needed]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace to Finnish airlines due to the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine forced Finnair to terminate many of its routes to Asia, resulting in 2024 traffic being 25% less than in 2019.[69]
Helsinki Airport offers non-stop flights to 162 destinations in over 50 countries around the world operated by over 20 airlines.[70] These include more than 100 cities in Europe and the Middle East, over 20 in Asia, and eight in North America.[71] The following airlines offer flights at Helsinki Airport:
Helsinki Airport is thefourth-busiest airport in the Nordics, serving over 15 million passengers in 2023.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Helsinki Airport was the busiest Nordic airport in terms of Asian passengers and in 2015, the airport was the fifth busiest airport in Europe in terms of flights to Asia.[175] In 2018, Helsinki Airport was connected to Asia with over 140 weekly flights.[176] When ranked by connectivity, the airport was the best-connected airport in Northern Europe with around 10,000 connections worldwide, 85% more than inCopenhagen which was the 2nd best-connected airport in the Nordics.[177] The number of connections from Helsinki Airport had grown by 96% during the 2010s. In Europe, the airport was the 12th best-connected airport. According toAirports Council International (ACI), Helsinki Airport was one of the fastest-growing airports in Europe in 2017.[177]
In 2016, passengers fromJapan,China,South Korea andUnited States made up the four largest groups of non-European travelers at Helsinki Airport. The airport handled around 386,000 Japanese passengers, 321,000 Chinese passengers, 136,000 Korean passengers and 98,000 US citizens. Other major nationalities were Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Taiwan, Israel and Indonesia.[178]
In the 2010s, Helsinki Airport's passenger volumes grew significantly. In 2010, the airport handled 12.9 million passengers while by 2019, the number of annual passengers had nearly doubled to over 21.8 million passengers.
In 2024, Finavia stated that "transfer travel from Asia to Europe via Helsinki Airport is (...) approximately 30% lower than in 2019" due toRussian reciprocal sanctions prohibiting Finnair among others, to use Russian airspace,[179] making the flight time on some routes several hours longer, more fuel consuming and previous flight connections impossible.[180][181]
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| Year | Domestic | International | GRAND TOTAL | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival passengers | Departure passengers | Transfer passengers | Total | Total Change % | Arrival passengers | Departure passengers | Transfer passengers | Total | Total Change % | Arrival passengers | Departure passengers | Transfer passengers | Total | Total Change % | |
| 1998 | 1,456,108 | 1,123,557 | 320,480 | 2,900,145 | 3,224,146 | 2,627,498 | 603,391 | 6,455,035 | 4,680,254 | 3,751,055 | 923,871 | 9,355,180 | |||
| 1999 | 1,408,403 | 1,066,651 | 328,073 | 2,803,127 | -3% | 3,349,174 | 2,784,964 | 629,423 | 6,763,561 | 5% | 4,757,577 | 3,851,615 | 957,496 | 9,566,688 | 2% |
| 2000 | 1,526,521 | 1,177,639 | 338,771 | 3,042,931 | 9% | 3,443,903 | 2,875,106 | 648,014 | 6,967,023 | 3% | 4,970,424 | 4,052,745 | 986,785 | 10,009,954 | 5% |
| 2001 | 1,503,504 | 1,144,497 | 351,671 | 2,999,672 | -1% | 3,496,334 | 2,897,584 | 637,328 | 7,031,246 | 1% | 4,999,838 | 4,042,081 | 988,999 | 10,030,918 | 0% |
| 2002 | 1,377,683 | 1,018,679 | 351,500 | 2,747,862 | -8% | 3,378,228 | 2,799,241 | 684,556 | 6,862,025 | -2% | 4,755,911 | 3,817,920 | 1,036,056 | 9,609,887 | -4% |
| 2003 | 1,347,755 | 1,000,030 | 336,833 | 2,684,618 | -2% | 3,479,250 | 2,858,562 | 688,490 | 7,026,302 | 2% | 4,827,005 | 3,858,592 | 1,025,323 | 9,710,920 | 1% |
| 2004 | 1,427,620 | 1,055,904 | 353,328 | 2,836,852 | 6% | 3,918,357 | 3,110,974 | 863,763 | 7,893,094 | 12% | 5,345,977 | 4,166,878 | 1,217,091 | 10,729,946 | 10% |
| 2005 | 1,407,192 | 1,036,092 | 361,020 | 2,804,304 | -1% | 4,157,212 | 3,228,850 | 942,829 | 8,328,891 | 6% | 5,564,404 | 4,264,942 | 1,303,849 | 11,133,195 | 4% |
| 2006 | 1,474,137 | 1,061,749 | 391,741 | 2,927,627 | 4% | 4,578,600 | 3,533,799 | 1,107,755 | 9,220,154 | 11% | 6,052,737 | 4,595,548 | 1,499,496 | 12,147,781 | 9% |
| 2007 | 1,445,258 | 1,030,566 | 399,472 | 2,875,296 | -2% | 5,118,611 | 3,787,847 | 1,359,868 | 10,266,326 | 11% | 6,563,869 | 4,818,413 | 1,759,340 | 13,141,622 | 8% |
| 2008 | 1,359,456 | 971,079 | 369,834 | 2,700,369 | -6% | 5,342,563 | 3,916,469 | 1,485,039 | 10,744,071 | 5% | 6,702,019 | 4,887,548 | 1,854,873 | 13,444,440 | 2% |
| 2009 | 1,188,756 | 843,194 | 340,935 | 2,372,885 | -12% | 5,116,132 | 3,737,701 | 1,384,469 | 10,238,302 | -5% | 6,304,888 | 4,580,895 | 1,725,404 | 12,611,187 | -6% |
| 2010 | 1,106,291 | 754,852 | 346,495 | 2,207,638 | -7% | 5,302,073 | 3,843,156 | 1,519,755 | 10,664,984 | 4% | 6,408,364 | 4,598,008 | 1,866,250 | 12,872,622 | 2% |
| 2011 | 1,356,485 | 926,723 | 423,836 | 2,707,044 | 23% | 6,066,264 | 4,270,885 | 1,821,878 | 12,159,027 | 14% | 7,422,749 | 5,197,608 | 2,245,714 | 14,866,071 | 15% |
| 2012 | 1,347,600 | 975,025 | 370,526 | 2,693,151 | -1% | 6,078,704 | 4,220,869 | 1,865,365 | 12,164,938 | 0% | 7,426,304 | 5,195,894 | 2,235,891 | 14,858,089 | 0% |
| 2013 | 1,212,379 | 858,700 | 360,553 | 2,431,632 | -10% | 6,415,166 | 4,425,738 | 2,006,458 | 12,847,362 | 6% | 7,627,545 | 5,284,438 | 2,367,011 | 15,278,994 | 3% |
| 2014 | 1,252,917 | 874,358 | 379,848 | 2,507,123 | 3% | 6,719,540 | 4,609,778 | 2,112,397 | 13,441,715 | 5% | 7,972,457 | 5,484,136 | 2,492,245 | 15,948,838 | 4% |
| 2015 | 1,296,179 | 878,900 | 416,645 | 2,591,724 | 3% | 6,910,106 | 4,767,663 | 2,152,773 | 13,830,542 | 3% | 8,206,285 | 5,646,563 | 2,569,418 | 16,422,266 | 3% |
| 2016 | 1,340,595 | 843,665 | 495,625 | 2,679,885 | 3% | 7,236,008 | 5,101,116 | 2,167,418 | 14,504,542 | 5% | 8,576,603 | 5,944,781 | 2,663,043 | 17,184,427 | 5% |
| 2017 | 1,365,773 | 848,398 | 517,283 | 2,731,454 | 2% | 8,063,135 | 5,548,772 | 2,549,025 | 16,160,932 | 11% | 9,428,908 | 6,397,170 | 3,066,308 | 18,892,386 | 10% |
| 2018 | 1,479,644 | 882,085 | 593,371 | 2,955,100 | 8% | 8,929,667 | 5,847,559 | 3,116,423 | 17,893,649 | 11% | 10,409,311 | 6,729,644 | 3,709,794 | 20,848,749 | 10% |
| 2019 | 1,471,681 | 843,761 | 614,337 | 2,929,779 | -1% | 9,444,724 | 5,914,677 | 3,571,902 | 18,931,303 | 6% | 10,916,405 | 6,758,438 | 4,186,239 | 21,861,082 | 5% |
| 2020 | 505,989 | 321,428 | 171,095 | 998,512 | -66% | 2,063,113 | 1,277,883 | 713,626 | 4,054,622 | -79% | 2,569,102 | 1,599,311 | 884,721 | 5,053,134 | -77% |
| 2021 | 425, 501 | 334, 102 | 96, 321 | 855, 924 | -14% | 1,698,360 | 1,314,162 | 393,089 | 3,405,611 | -16% | 2,123,861 | 1,648,264 | 489,410 | 4,261,535 | -16% |
| 2022 | 853,801 | 498,232 | 338,972 | 1,691,005 | 98% | 5,579,360 | 4,061,031 | 1,551,465 | 11,191,856 | 229% | 6,433,161 | 4,559,263 | 1,890,437 | 12,882,861 | 202% |
The airport is located in the immediate vicinity ofRing III andFinnish national road 45. The airport is also connected to theHelsinki commuter rail system and thelocal bus network.
Helsinki Airport rail services |
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The railway link to the airport opened for traffic in July 2015[194] and serves local commuter trains, which run every 10 minutes during the day and every 15 to 30 minutes in the evenings and early mornings. All services are operated with theJKOY Class Sm5Stadler FLIRT trains, operated by theVR Group under contract forHSL.[195]
Services run as a loop and retain their line code for the entire journey. I trains run anti-clockwise and take 34 minutes to reach Helsinki, via Myyrmäki, while P trains run clockwise and take 29 minutes to reach Helsinki. P trains also call atTikkurila, an important interchange with domestic long-distance and night trains. While the last I train leaves the airport just after midnight, P trains run until 1.22 (2.22 at weekends).
Plans also exist for a direct connection between Helsinki Central, the airport, and the long-distance rail network viaKerava. This line, known asLentorata, is projected to run in a tunnel for most of its approximately 30 km length.[196]
Taxi rank is located adjacent to the terminal. Since 1 January 2025, only the four companies contracted to Finavia, FixuTaxi, Taksi Helsinki, Menevä, and Lähitaksi are allowed to use it.[197] Other taxi companies can use an area dedicated for pre-booked and app rides inside parking lot P2.[198]
The local transport authority,HSL, runs frequent bus services from the airport to various destinations around Helsinki. Trunk buses 570 and 600 runs 24 hours a day and provide connections toTikkurila andMellunmäki (570) and centralHelsinki (600). In addition, night buses 415N and 431N run instead of train services at night, connecting the airport withMyyrmäki (415N) andKivistö (431N), before also running to central Helsinki. Finally, line 562 runs viaMalmi toItäkeskus.
Coach connections to Tampere and Turku are provided by various operators.[199]
Until 2020 theFinnair City Bus, operated byPohjolan Liikenne, provided a direct bus connection from theEliel Square in central Helsinki to the airport.[200] In spring 2020, the service was suspended because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, and in autumn 2020 Pohjolan Liikenne announced it would discontinue the service permanently.[201] The service operated for the last time on 22 March 2020.[202]
Finnair operates bus connections from Helsinki Airport toTurku Bus Station andTampere Bus Station[203]
In August 2016, there were about 13 thousand parking spaces at the Helsinki Airport.[204] Some of the spaces were taken out of use in January 2019 when the parking garage P1/P2 located near the terminal was dismantled to make way for the new entrance to the airport.[205]
The airport has two parking garages (P3 and P5) as well as two outdoor parking areas (P4A and P4B).
There are also companies providing airport parking services near the airport, where passengers can leave their cars in a guarded area and get transport to the airport.[206][207][208]
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In October 2013, Finavia received a capital injection of €200,000,000 from the Finnish Government. The investment enabled Finavia to start a development program worth €900,000,000 at Helsinki Airport, aiming at maintaining the strong position of Helsinki Airport in transit traffic between Europe and Asia. The program started in January 2014 and is planned to last until February 2020.[216] It is expected to generate about 14,000 person-years of employment. Helsinki Airport was expected to serve 20 million passengers per year by 2020 and create about 5,000 new jobs at the airport.[12] However, the airport served almost 21 million passengers in 2018; two years before the target. The expansion will increase capacity at the airport to 30 million passengers.[217] In order to achieve this, the airport will expand both of its terminals and open a new entrance in place of the current parking and public transport area.[217]
TheSuomi-rata project, started in 2019, aims to build a new railway connection to the airport. It would create a new, twice as fast connection from the airport to the Helsinki Central railway station as well as a connection to the Finnish Main Line, allowing direct rail access to the airport also from elsewhere in Finland.[218]
Among the completed and planned projects are:[219]
Helsinki Airport has capacity for about 17 million passengers annually, although this number was passed in 2016. Finavia decided to expand the current terminal building to respond to the expected passenger growth within the following years.
Part of the plan was to build asatellite terminal next to Terminal 2, but the plan was cancelled in favour of expansion under a single terminal building.[223] In September 2014, Finavia revealed more detailed plans for the future expansion that will take place between 2014 and 2020. According to the plan Terminals 1 and 2 will be combined and expanded under one roof. This expansion work is one of Finland's largest construction projects. The expansion was designed by the Finnish architects' office PES-Architects. The same office designed the previous Helsinki Airport expansions completed in 1996 and 1999, as well as the circular parking buildings in front of the terminal.[224] The surface area will increase by 45%, luggage handling capacity will increase by 50%. The entire surface area of the terminal in 2020 will be approximately 250,000 square metres (2,700,000 sq ft).[225]
Finavia plans to expand Terminal 1, which is used for flights within the Schengen area. The construction is scheduled to be started in November 2017. Terminal 1 will be expanded by four separate departure gate buildings which will be connected by walking corridors. Each building will have one departure gate excluding one, which will have three gates. Gates (5–11) will not be equipped with jet bridges. Buildings will have two floors.[226][227]
Terminal 2 will have new gates (8 additional gates to Terminal 2) and aircraft stands on the apron.[228] All gates for long-haul flights will have double jet bridges (such as the ones atIncheon International Airport) to enable handling larger aircraft more efficiently. Finavia has signed a contract withThyssen Krupp Airport Systems for 16 widebody aircraft stands with up to 33 new jet bridges. New jet bridges were installed to gates 38 and 39 (now 53 and 54). Gate 48 can accommodate theAirbus A380 superjumbo and there are new aircraft stands on the apron accommodating the A380. Five of the gates will be able to accommodate two regional jets, such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s, simultaneously at a single gate.[53] Two of these gates are located at West Pier.
In June 2016, the new bus terminal for remote aircraft stand operations was opened to increase the airport's capacity with gates 50A-M.
The newSouth Pier of Terminal 2 was inaugurated on 10 July 2017. The first scheduled flight from the new pier, AY006 departed from Gate 54 to New York City. The new pier covers 8,300 square metres (89,000 sq ft). In addition to the new terminal building, new dual boarding gates S54 and S55 as well as aircraft stands 171 and 172 were opened. Construction of the southern wing of Terminal 2 started on 4 January 2016.[229] The construction took around 18 months. There are two floors: one for arriving passengers, the other for departures and gates 52 to 55. All the gates have dual boarding jet bridges. The new wing also features the first moving walkway at any airport in Finland.
On 20 September 2016, the construction on theWest Pier began, even though it was expected to start in summer 2017. The first part of the west wing is expected to be finished in April 2019 while the entire pier was completed in October 2019.[222] The west wing represents some €300,000,000 of Finavia's substantial total investment of €900,000,000. The first part of the west wing built is the large central plaza, "Aukio", which was opened in February 2019. It brings 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) of new passenger and baggage facilities to the airport.[230] The pier is equipped with nine gates for widebody jets. Gate 48 is able to accommodate the Airbus A380.
The area of the apron to be renovated covers a total of 157,000 square metres (1,690,000 sq ft).
The Helsinki Airport development program also includes plans to expand Terminal 2 to the area currently used for parking and public transport. This would provide more space for check-in, security control and baggage operations, allowing the airport to concentrate all departure and arrival services in a single terminal.[230] On 1 December 2021, a new multimodal travel center will be opened in connection with Terminal 2, among other things, to streamline access to the airport from the train station and bus terminal.[231]
The construction of a new freight terminal (35,000 m2 or 380,000 sq ft) began in March 2015. The capacity of the terminal is being expanded to accommodate the growing freight capacity that will be provided byFinnair'sAirbus A350 XWB fleet. Finnair's freight operations will continue in the current location until relocation to the new freight terminal in spring 2017.[61]
Part of the rehaul of Helsinki Airport has included the development of a contextual engine that uses artificial intelligence to digest passenger data in ways that make passing through the airport a more pleasant experience. The benefits come from an array of small improvements; for example, digital signs change language according to the nationalities of those getting off a flight. Passengers are also continuously kept abreast of how long it will take them to reach their gates or pass through security control.Monocle named the contextual engine built by technology firmReaktor as one of the top transportation innovations of 2018.[232]
In addition to the terminal expansion, Finavia has also contemplated building a third terminal at Helsinki Airport. According to Finavia's tentative plan, the new terminal would be located between runways 04R/22L and 04L/22R, while runway 15/33 would be removed. The terminal would be the principal terminal at the airport but the check-in area would stay in the current terminal building. The decision to build the third terminal has not yet been taken.[233]
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