More than five million bags departed from Helsinki Airport

In 2012, a total of 5,093,561 bags departed from Helsinki Airport. This includes the bags of departing and transfer passengers, and the bags were transported in the hold. The figures do not include cabin baggage. The volume of baggage is increasing step by step. In 2010, for example, a total of 4.8 million bags departed from Helsinki Airport. The baggage handling system of Helsinki Airport is maintained by Finavia, the Finnish airport operator. The 11-kilometre-long baggage line is the backbone of the baggage handling center. The line's state-of-the-art technology sorts bags to the correct airplanes in an efficient and quick way. The top speed of bags travelling on the line is seven metres per second. The airline is responsible for baggage handling, transport and delivery to the destination.

Baggage peaks during holiday seasons

On a daily basis, the airport has about 10,000–20,000 bags going from place to place. The baggage volume is usually higher during weekends. The day with the highest number of bags last year was Friday, 17 February, a total of 20,473 bags in 24 hours. At that time, many passengers were going on a winter holiday. June was the month with the highest number of bags: 490,767 departed from Helsinki Airport in June. "When the holiday seasons begin, the airport has a lot of passengers and baggage. Those going on holiday should arrive at the airport in a timely fashion and pack their baggage correctly," says Ville Haapasaari, Helsinki Airport Director at Finavia. Check out the cool video of Helsinki Airport baggage handling system!