“Including exercise with air travel is now easier than ever. When you’re about to get on a long flight, you can now use your waiting time exercising instead of sitting. With these new action games the passenger has a fun way to exercise more,” says Finavia’s Airport Director Ville Haapasaari.
Helsinki Airport has a history of providing activities and entertainment to passengers. A game area was opened at Helsinki Airport in November, in which passengers of all ages can spend time dancing, playing air hockey or table football.
In the dancing game, participants play against the computer. The goal is to perform the sequence of dance steps that the computer shows on the floor tiles.
You can choose a suitable difficulty level, so the game is suitable for everyone ranging from beginner to expert.
Air hockey and table football are fun to play with your friends or family, for example. Both games put your reaction speed to the test and the aim is to score as many goals as possible.
The game area is located downstairs from departure gate 37 and is open all day. The cost is 1–2 Euros/game. The games were provided by Pelika, which is a Finnish game provider.
The service will run on a trial basis for three months. During the trial, the number of users and the popularity of the area is recorded, and these are used to decide the future of the area.
Adding exercise is the goal of another pilot project as well. Finavia has introduced three new mobile phone charging stations at Helsinki Airport for passenger use.
The charging station has lockable boxes where the passengers can leave their phones to charge. The passenger doesn’t need to sit by their phone to keep it safe while charging, so they are free to walk around the terminal.
The pilots are part of Finavia’s service development strategy, which aims to create new and innovative services to improve the airport customer experience and to support the Helsinki Airport’s transfer travelling goals.
“We want to make the airport more comfortable and offer passengers fun and memorable moments. Hopefully, these new activity games will add to passenger well-being and provide a bit of fun. A stay at an airport is at its best when it’s care and stress free,” says Haapasaari.
Five healthy activities to do before a long flight
- Leave your phone at a charging station and walk around the terminal. You can walk the terminal from end to end, for example. The walk there and back is about two kilometres.
- You can spot artwork by Finnish artists or pop in to a photography exhibition.
- The airport has many quiet nooks where you can do some stretching. Here is a list of easy stretching exercises.
- Head over to the game area and try the new activities. They are suitable for all ages and include dancing games, air hockey and table football.
- Those in need of a harder workout can reserve a room from the GLO-hotel, located in the basement floor of the terminal, and visit the hotel’s gym.
