In 2015, the focus will be on airports in Lapland. The employment impact of the investments is estimated at 350 person-years.
In 2015, most of the work will be carried out at Ivalo, Kittilä, Rovaniemi, Vaasa, Mariehamn and Joensuu Airports. The biggest investments will involve renovations of traffic areas and buildings.
Finavia will also continue the process of improving the functioning, overall visual appearance and pleasantness of the terminals so that passengers have better travel experiences. More self-service options will also mean more automation.
'Finland has received a great deal of international recognition for its airports – the latest body to express such positive views is the World Economic Forum. We want to ensure that competitive airports will continue to support the development of Finnish air traffic in the best possible way. This is why we will continue the systematic development of Finland's airports. Capacity expansion will not be a priority in 2015 as the focus will be on renovation and service quality. In fact, Finnish airports could already handle many times more air traffic than today', explains Joni Sundelin, the director responsible for airport networks at Finavia Corporation.
In Lapland, Finavia will continue the systematic development of the region's airports. This is because increasing tourism is also expected to boost traffic volumes. The terminal of Rovaniemi Airport will be modernised in a project that will start during 2015. When the work is finished, the performance, visual appearance and pleasantness of the terminal will be raised to a new level. The modernisation and extension of the Ivalo Airport terminal will be completed during the year.
The work at Kittilä Airport will also continue. The modernisation of the terminal, which was completed in November, will be followed by the renovation of the airport's traffic areas next summer. The renovation work will also affect air traffic: Kittilä Airport will be closed between 3 and 30 August 2015. Traffic areas at Vaasa Airport will also be renovated next summer and the airport will be closed between 22 June and 26 July 2015.
In addition to the airports in Lapland, there will also be renovations and modernisation at Mariehamn and Joensuu. At both airports, the attention will also be on the functioning and visual appearance of the facilities.
'Air traffic can only work well if airports are competitive. However, airports are not attractive for airlines if, for one reason or another, there are no passengers on the planes using them. At Finavia, we have ensured that airports are not in any way the bottleneck hampering growth in air traffic. It's important that different sectors do their homework and find concrete ways of promoting tourism and other business that can boost demand for air travel. Finavia is happy to take part in this cooperation,' Sundelin says.
In addition to developing network airports, Finavia will also invest about 11 million euros in air navigation systems in 2015.
Development programme proceeding according to plan
In 2014, Finavia started an extensive investment programme in its airport network totalling about 100 million euros.
During the first stage of the programme, the biggest regional airport projects have, in addition to Ivalo, involved Turku and Tampere, where the work is expected to be completed in 2015. Terminals are being renovated and expanded at both airports.
The modernisation of the terminals at Kuopio, Vaasa, Kittilä and Oulu Airports has also been completed. A development programme extending to 2020 is underway at Helsinki Airport.
