With the change, the departure times and their punctuality information announced on all Finavia’s digital channels will become more specific because, in the future, the departure status will be based on the same measurable phase of the plane turn process as the schedule.
“Until now, the departure time of the planes leaving from Helsinki Airport has been the time the plane leaves the runway. Going forward, the flights’ scheduled and realised departure times will be announced as so-called off-block times, which means the time the plane left the bridge or the outside spot,” explains Heini Noronen-Juhola, Vice President at Finavia.
Each year, there are approximately 90,000 flights departing from Finland’s biggest airport, Helsinki Airport. An estimated 20 million passengers will travel on these flights this year. At the same time, Helsinki Airport is undergoing a EUR 1 billion development initiative that is preparing the airport to serve more than 30 million passengers annually.
“We wanted to standardise our airport’s flight information to match the international practice. This way, the scheduled and realised departure times will be harmonised. The new practice will improve the presentation of departure punctuality information for the flights,” Noronen-Juhola explains.
It’s possible to reach 145 destinations all over the world from Helsinki Airport. The airport is Northern Europe’s most significant air traffic junction for air traffic between Europe and Asia.
The change in the flight departure status at Helsinki Airport is a part of Finavia’s larger digital programme. As a part of the digital programme, the phases of the plane turn around process will be specified, which the change implemented in this initiative is also related to. The programme will also improve access to flight information from the flight information interface.
The departure time for planes leaving from Finavia’s provincial airports will continue to be the time when the plane takes off from the runway.
Passengers are still advised to arrive at the airport well beforehand. The change does not affect the presentation of arrival times as the estimated flight arrival time will continue to be presented according to the international standards at Helsinki Airport.
