Helsinki Airport

This article is about the main airport of Helsinki. For Helsinki-Malmi Airport, see Helsinki-Malmi Airport.
Helsinki Airport
Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema
Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats
IATA: HEL – ICAO: EFHK
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Finavia
Serves Helsinki, Finland
Location Vantaa
Hub for
Focus city for Blue1
Elevation AMSL 55 m / 179 ft
Coordinates 60°19′02″N 024°57′48″E / 60.31722°N 24.96333°ECoordinates: 60°19′02″N 024°57′48″E / 60.31722°N 24.96333°E
Website helsinki-vantaa.fi
Map
HEL

Location within Finland

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04R/22L 3,400 11,200 Asphalt
04L/22R 3,060 10,039 Asphalt
15/33 2,901 9,518 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers total 15,948,760
International passengers 13,441,567
Domestic passengers 2,507,193
Landings 82,346
Source: AIP Finland[1]
Statistics from Finavia[2]

Helsinki Airport[3] (IATA: HEL, ICAO: EFHK; Finnish: Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema, Swedish: Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats[4]) is the main international airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region and the whole of Finland with about 16 million passengers annually. It serves as the hub for Finnair, the Finnish flag carrier, as well as a base for Blue1, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Flybe Nordic. The airport is located in the city of Vantaa, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) west of Tikkurila, the centre of Vantaa, and 9.2 NM (17.0 km; 10.6 mi) north[1] of Helsinki city center.

Overview

Originally built for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the airport nowadays is the fourth busiest airport in the Nordic countries,[5] with 15,948,760 passengers having used the airport in 2014. This number makes up for 81% of the total number of passengers in Finland's 21 commercial airports combined (18,880,940).[6] making it the busiest airport in Finland by far. It provides jobs for 20,000 people and there are 1,500 companies that operate at this airport.[7] The airport is operated by Finavia, the state-owned enterprise that operates Finland's airports.

As of February 2015, there has been a proposal to rename the airport as "Sibelius Airport" after Jean Sibelius, Finland's most famous composer. The proposal stems from the project group of Jean Sibelius's anniversary year 2015, the foundation for the Sibelius birth city foundation and the Sibelius society. The Finnish government ministers Alexander Stubb, Antti Rinne and Paula Risikko have expressed positive feedback for the proposal.[8][9]

Facilities

Terminals

The airport is nominally divided into two terminals, located 250 metres (820 ft) apart and linked by an internal pedestrian connection both airside and landside. In practice, however, the airside parts of the terminal buildings are not divided into Terminal 1 (the former domestic terminal) and Terminal 2 (the former international terminal) but to Schengen and non-Schengen areas. The non-Schengen area of Terminal 2 has been enlarged in 2009 enabling the airport to accommodate eight wide-body aircraft at gates simultaneously. The terminal capacity of the airport is approximately 16–17 million passengers per year.[10]

In 2013 Finavia announced plans to expand the airport to serve up to 20 million passenger by 2020. The construction is set to begin in 2014 by adding capacity to check-in and transit areas at Terminal 2. The expansion project is estimated to cost 900 million euros. Part of the plan was to build a satellite terminal next to Terminal 2 but the plan was cancelled in favor of expansion under a single terminal building.[11] In September 2014 Finavia revealed more detailed plans for the future expansion that will take place between 2014 - 2020. The Terminals 1 and 2 will be combined and expanded under one roof with new gates and aircraft stands on the apron.[12]

In 2014, Helsinki airport introduced the world's first passenger tracking system,[13] which automatically monitors crowd congestion and prevents bottlenecks at the two-terminal airport.[13]

Runways

The airport's three runways provide a platform for future growth while the airport can accommodate wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A340. The use of three runways allows for efficient clearing away of snow and ice during the winter months to keep the airport open.[14]

Ground handling

The following handling agents provide ground handling services for airlines:[15] Airpro, Aviator and Swissport.

Other users

There are several airport hotels and office buildings on the grounds of the airport. The Aviapolis is a new international business park adjacent to the Helsinki airport area, already hosting the operations of numerous companies around the airport. Several hotels are located near the airport as well.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Aegean Airlines Athens (begins 1 June 2015) 2
Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo 2
airBaltic Riga 1
Air Berlin Berlin-Tegel 2
Air Croatia Seasonal: Zagreb 2
Arkia Israel Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion 2
Belavia Minsk-National 2
British Airways London-Heathrow 2
Finnair Amsterdam, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Beijing-Capital, Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Budapest, Chongqing, Copenhagen, Delhi, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Ivalo, Joensuu, Kittilä, Kraków, Kuopio, Kuusamo, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Nagoya-Centrair, New York-JFK, Osaka-Kansai, Oslo-Gardermoen, Oulu, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, Rovaniemi, Saint Petersburg, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Stockholm-Arlanda, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tokyo-Narita, Vaasa, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw-Chopin, Yekaterinburg, Zürich
Seasonal: Antalya, Athens, Bergen, Biarritz, Catania, Chania, Chicago-O'Hare (begins 13 June 2015), Dalaman, Dubai-International, Dubrovnik, Ovda, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gazipaşa, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ho Chi Minh City, Innsbruck (begins 14 June 2015), Kos (begins 9 May 2015), Krabi, Lanzarote, Ljubljana, Malta, Miami, Naples (begins 28 May 2015), Nice, Paphos, Palma de Mallorca, Phuket, Pisa, Rhodes, Split, Tenerife-North, Tenerife-South, Toronto-Pearson, Venice-Marco Polo, Xi'an 		2
Finnair
operated by Flybe Nordic		Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gdansk (begins 11 May 2015), Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kazan, Kemi , Kokkola, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Luleå (begins 18 May 2015), Manchester, Mariehamn, Munich, Nizhny Novgorod, Norrköping, Oslo-Gardermoen, Oulu, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Riga, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stockholm-Bromma, Tallinn, Tampere, Tartu (resumes 22 June 2015),[16] Turku, Umeå (begins 18 May 2015), Vaasa, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw-Chopin, Zürich
Seasonal: Dublin, Tromsø, Visby 		2
Gotlandsflyg
operated by Golden Air 		Seasonal: Visby 1
Icelandair Reykjavík-Keflavík 2
Japan Airlines Tokyo-Narita 2
Jet Time Seasonal: Gazipaşa, Split (begins 8 May 2015) 2
KLM Amsterdam 2
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich 1
Norwegian Air Shuttle Alicante, Barcelona, Budapest, Copenhagen, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Oslo-Gardermoen, Oulu, Paris-Orly, Rome-Fiumicino, Rovaniemi, Stockholm-Arlanda
Seasonal: Athens, Burgas, Chania, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Gran Canaria, Ivalo, Kittilä, Larnaca, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Prague, Pula (begins 27 June 2015), Rhodes, Salzburg, Santorini, Split, Tenerife South, Venice-Marco Polo 		2
Primera Air Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South 2
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1
Scandinavian Airlines
operated by Blue1 		Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1
Severstal Aircompany Cherepovets 2
Snowbird Airlines Enontekiö, Málaga, Oulu 2
SunExpress Izmir 2
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich 1
TAP Portugal Lisbon 1
TUIfly Nordic operated by Thomson Airways Seasonal charter: Mauritius, Montego Bay 2
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk 2
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev-Boryspil 2
Vueling Barcelona 1

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
AirBridgeCargo AirlinesFrankfurt[17]
AirestTallinn
DHL Aviation
operated by EAT Leipzig 		Brussels, Leipzig/Halle
Pskovavia Saint Petersburg
FedEx ExpressStockholm Arlanda Airport, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
MASkargoIstanbul-Atatürk
Nord-FlygMariehamn
TNT AirwaysLiège, Örebro
Turkish Airlines CargoIstanbul-Atatürk, Stockholm-Arlanda
UPS AirlinesCologne/Bonn, Malmö, Stockholm-Arlanda

Statistics

10 busiest international routes

Runway 33 at Helsinki Airport
Check-in-area at Terminal 2
Rank City Airport(s) Weekly departures
(May 2014)		 Airlines
1. Stockholm Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Stockholm Bromma Airport
149
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Blue1, Scandinavian Airlines, Jet Time
2. Copenhagen Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport
81
Finnair, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Blue1, Scandinavian Airlines, Cimber
3. London London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport
62
British Airways, Finnair, Norwegian Air Shuttle
4. Riga Riga Airport
50
Flybe Nordic, Air Baltic
5. Oslo Oslo Gardermoen Airport
48
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Blue1
6. Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport
42
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Lufthansa
7. Tallinn Tallinn Airport
39
Flybe Nordic
8. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport
38
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Norwegian Air Shuttle
8. Berlin Berlin Tegel Airport
38
Air Berlin, Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Germanwings
10. Munich Munich Airport
35
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Lufthansa
10. Amsterdam Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
35
Finnair, KLM

10 busiest domestic routes

Rank City Airport(s) Weekly Departures
(May 2014)		 Airlines
1. Oulu Oulu Airport
88
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Norwegian Air Shuttle
2. Kuopio Kuopio Airport
47
Finnair, Flybe Nordic
3. Vaasa Vaasa Airport
39
Finnair, Flybe Nordic
4. Rovaniemi Rovaniemi Airport
32
Finnair, Flybe Nordic, Norwegian Air Shuttle
5. Tampere Tampere-Pirkkala Airport
31
Flybe Nordic
5. Turku Turku Airport
31
Flybe Nordic
7. Joensuu Joensuu Airport
30
Flybe Nordic
8. Kajaani Kajaani Airport
22
Flybe Nordic
9. Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Airport
21
Flybe Nordic
10. Kemi Kemi-Tornio Airport
20
Flybe Nordic

Passengers

An American Airlines Boeing 767-300ER at Helsinki Airport
A Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800 at Helsinki Airport
Annual passenger statistics for Helsinki Airport[18]
Year Domestic passengers International passengers Total passengers Change
1999 2,803,907 6,760,931 9,564,028 +2.2% Increase
2000 3,042,914 6,967,234 10,010,148 +4.7% Increase
2001 2,999,672 7,031,246 10,030,918 +0.2% Increase
2002 2,747,862 6,862,025 9,609,887 −4.2% Decrease
2003 2,684,618 7,026,302 9,710,920 +1.1% Increase
2004 2,836,852 7,893,125 10,729,977 +10.5% Increase
2005 2,804,304 8,326,285 11,130,589 +3.7% Increase
2006 2,927,627 9,220,154 12,147,781 +9.1% Increase
2007 2,875,289 10,215,455 13,090,744 +7.8% Increase
2008 2,700,350 10,726,551 13,426,901 +2.2% Increase
2009 2,372,844 10,218,762 12,591,606 −6.3% Decrease
2010 2,208,521 10,674,878 12,883,399 +2.2% Increase
2011 2,707,044 12,158,827 14,865,871 +15.5% Increase
2012 2,693,151 12,165,064 14,858,215 −0.1% Decrease
2013 2,431,632 12,847,411 15,279,043 +2.8% Increase
2014 2 507 193 13 441 567 15,948,760 +4.4% Increase

Freight and Mail

Loaded/Unloaded freight and mail (tons, kg) Helsinki Airport[19]
Year Domestic freight Domestic mail International freight International mail Total freight and mail Change
2005 4,692 5,251 115,734 9,627 135,303 +1.9% Increase
2006 4,145 5,469 126,332 9,098 145,044 +7.2% Increase
2007 3,171 5,676 139,840 14,961 154,801 +6.7% Increase
2008 2,968 4,435 140,572 9,532 157,508 +1.8% Increase
2009 1,322 2,161 110,382 8,243 122,107 −22.5% Decrease
2010 1,083 1,992 147,139 7,793 158,007 +29.4% Increase
2011 615 2,464 157,178 9,962 169,985 +8.0% Increase
2012 1,747 1,930 180,426 8,100 192,204 +12.8% Increase

Ground transportation

Rail

Tikkurila Railway Station

Connecting the airport by frequent local bus 61 of Helsinki Regional Transport Authority or taxi to the Tikkurila railway station provides access to commuter trains as well as to long-distance trains in the directions of Tampere and Lahti, including lines to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Bus number 540 connects to Espoo railway station in the direction of Turku.

The construction of the Ring Rail Line rail link to the airport was started in May 2009, with an opening for traffic projected for mid-2015. The new railway will serve local commuter trains running at 10-minute intervals at peak periods although capacity problems have prevented dedicated airport express style trains. The trip from an underground station near the current airport terminal building to Helsinki Central Station will take about 30 minutes. Eastbound trains will stop at Tikkurila (8 minutes away) where passengers can connect to northbound inter city trains.[20] Initially there will be no direct connection between the new airport station and the terminal building and a shuttle bus will transport passengers the 200m between the station and terminal building, with a walkway planned to open some time after train services have commenced.

Bus

There are regular bus service 615 and 620 to the Helsinki Central railway station in 30–55 minutes, and major hotels and railway stations in the Greater Helsinki Area in 15–120 minutes. The chief operator of these services is Helsinki Regional Transport Authority under the "HSL" brand. A direct coach service by Finnair is also available to and from the city center (usually about 30 min).

Coach connections, daytime and overnight, to all parts of Finland are provided by Matkahuolto and ExpressBus. They depart from airport coach terminal.

Means of transport at Helsinki Airport
Means of transport Operator Route Destinations Website Notes
BusHelsinki Regional Transport Authority615, 620Helsinki Central railway station (Finnish: Rautatientori)www.hsl.fi
Pohjolan LiikenneFinnair City BusHelsinki Central railway stationwww.pohjolanliikenne.fi
Matkahuolto--Hämeenlinna, Imatra, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kotka, Kouvola, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Lohja, Mikkeli, Oulu, Pori, Porvoo, Rauma, Salo, Tampere, Turku, Vaasawww.matkahuolto.fi

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "EFHK Helsinki-Vantaa" (PDF). AIP Suomi / Finland. Finavia. 17 December 2009. pp. EFHK AD 2.1, pp. 1–7. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Finavia's Air Traffic Statistics 2010" (PDF). Vantaa: Finavia. pp. 7, 9. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "Helsinki Airport". Finavia. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  4. ↑ As of 2010, the official English name of the airport is Helsinki Airport. The Finnish and Swedish names remain as Helsinki-Vantaa and Helsingfors-Vanda.
  5. ↑ http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportDetails.do?airportCode=HEL
  6. ↑ Raeste, Juha-Pekka: Lentoasemat pulassa. Helsingin Sanomat 8 June 2014, pp. B8-B9,
  7. ↑ Helsinki Airport
  8. ↑ Arvovaltainen aloite: Helsinki-Vantaan lentokentästä Sibelius-lentokenttä, Helsingin Sanomat online edition, 4 February 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.mtv.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/artikkeli/helsinki-vantaan-lentoaseman-nimeen-halutaan-jean-sibelius/4755610
  10. ↑ http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/enemman-tietoa/helsinki-vantaa-lyhyesti/kehityshankkeet/terminaalilaajennus
  11. ↑ Finavia is starting a major development programme at Helsinki Airport 16 October 2013
  12. ↑ Helsinki Airport determined to remain an attractive international hub: services will expand under one roof September 18, 2014
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Helsinki airport introduces world's first passenger tracking system". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "How Helsinki airport deals with snow and ice". BBC News. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ L, J (19 March 2015). "Finnair Adds Helsinki – Tartu Route from late-June 2015". Airline Route. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  17. ↑ http://www.lentoposti.fi/uutiset/airbridgecargo_helsinkiin_uudella_rahtireitilla_lentaa_myos_boeing_747_8f
  18. ↑ "Traffic statistics – Passengers". Finavia. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Traffic statistics – Freight traffic". Finavia. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  20. ↑ "Ring Rail Line". Finnish Transport Agency. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.

External links

Media related to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport at Wikimedia Commons