A great deal of emphasis has been put on local content in the services available to passengers and in the refurbished overall appearance of the airport.
In the overhaul of Oulu Airport, the focus has been on the services provided for the passengers in the terminal, functioning of the car parks and the pleasantness of the terminal. Everything in the terminal between the lobby and the gate area has been given a fresh look, the cafe and restaurant services have been given a complete makeover, and the car parks now boast the largest sustainable recharging area for electric cars in Northern Europe.
"The service revamp marks the completion of the overhaul of Oulu Airport. The overhaul is also in accordance with passengers' wishes and we are of course happy that we have been able to react to their feedback in such a concrete manner. We are working to ensure that Oulu Airport will provide highly competitive service for the region's air traffic", says Joni Sundelin, SVP, Director responsible for Finavia's network airports, sales and marketing.
During the past four years, a total of 25 million euros has been invested in Oulu Airport. The airport was expanded in 2011 and the departure hall underwent major changes in 2013.
Strong emphasis on local content
Both cafes at Oulu Airport, which are located in the gate area and in the lobby, are now named Oulu Cafe. The offerings of the cafe located in the gate area are in accordance with the time of the day: morning porridge starts the day and during lunchtime soups and salads are served. The bakery products are supplied by a bakery in Oulu. Lunch is served at the lobby cafe on weekdays.
The sea and particularly the island of Hailuoto are clearly visible at the airport.
In the gate area, there is also a new beer restaurant, which has its roots in local history. The restaurant is named Oluthuone Toppila after a brewery that used to be located in the Oulu district of Toppila. In addition to beers, the restaurant also serves warm snacks, such as hamburgers and legendary 'kärkkäri' sausages, which are popular in Oulu. Passengers can also buy gifts at both cafes.
The new cafe and restaurant services at Oulu Airport are operated by SSP Finland.
Nature of the Oulu area has served as an inspiration for the designers of the refurbished terminal. The surroundings, the sea and particularly the island of Hailuoto are clearly visible at the airport. Finavia has set up a Hailuoto lounge in the gate area, which has a size of 300 square metres.
The lounge, where one can spend time relaxing or working, is open to all passengers. Additional rocking chairs were also placed in the terminal and materials such as rag rug fabrics have been used for decorating the space.
Finavia helps to speed up travel with the latest technology
Bag drop machines facilitate the proceedings in the departure hall during the busiest times of the day. With the bag drop machine, passengers can drop their bags themselves to be transported in the cargo hold after machine or online check-in.
Remote controlled heating posts have been installed at car parks P1 and P3 and they also serve as charging points for electric cars. Using the remote control, passengers can switch on the heating shortly before the return flight when they are still at the holiday destination. The car park area is also the largest sustainable recharge area in Northern Europe, boasting a total of 300 charging points.
At the end of the year, Finavia will also install energy-efficient LED lighting at the car parks. The lighting will be guided by motion sensors, which will further reduce energy consumption.
Finavia's network airport investment programme
Finavia launched its network airport investment programme at the beginning of 2014. The largest projects of the investment programme are under way in Turku, Ivalo and Tampere, but work is also taking place at other network airports. About 35 million euros have been invested in network airports in 2014.
There are 14 daily flights from Oulu Airport to Helsinki (Finnair, Norwegian) and one to Stockholm (SAS). There are also charter flights to a number of holiday destinations. In 2013, a total of 877,000 passengers went through Oulu Airport.
