Parking at Rovaniemi Airport has, up to now, been arranged in the traditional way: access to the parking area has been restricted with a barrier, and customers have used a coupon and pay stations to pay for parking when leaving. New payment applications make parking smoother, eliminating barriers, coupons and queuing at pay stations.
In the future, visitors will drive their car straight into the parking area and launch the parking application on their smartphone. Customers using the parking application for the first time must register to use the application. Upon arrival, customers indicate the beginning of parking and enter the expected end time in the application. When leaving, they pay for parking directly in the application.
If customers wish to extend their parking session, for example because they extend their vacation or because their flight is late, they can update the information in the parking application without returning to their car.
– Mobile applications offer travellers a faster and more flexible way to park their car at the airport. At Rovaniemi Airport, we are eager to test new digital applications that can improve the customer experience and streamline the different stages of travel, says Johan Juujärvi, Airport Manager of Rovaniemi Airport.
In the future, customers will be able to pay for parking at Rovaniemi Airport using three different applications. The service is currently offered by ParkMan, EasyPark and Moovy. ParkMan and EasyPark are also available for on-street parking in the town of Rovaniemi. The parking fee at the airport is the same for all applications, but there may be differences in the service fees charged by the different applications. Instructions and additional information can be found on the service providers’ websites.
At Rovaniemi Airport, travellers can still use advance pay stations, located in the vicinity of the front doors of the terminal, where the parking fee can be paid using a debit or credit card. In connection with the parking reform, parking fees will also be revised. Parking will be cheapest when paying with a parking application: the price for one day will be 14 euros when using an application and 16 euros when using a pay station. The parking reform will not affect customers with a season card for parking.
– The digitisation of parking will reduce the need for physical devices and presumably improve the reliability of parking, since there will be fewer fault-prone mechanical parts in use. The reform will enable us to do away with metal pay stations as well as one-time coupons, which is also a responsible choice. The new pilot will offer Finavia valuable information that can be used as a basis for decisions on extending the use to other Finnish airports, says Olli Väyrynen, VP Business Development at Finavia.
A development project to expand the terminal and parking facilities is currently under way at Rovaniemi Airport. The expansion will increase parking by over 10 per cent, resulting in nearly 400 parking spots. The Rovaniemi Airport extension project will increase the terminal area by 75 per cent and will be completed at the end of 2019, before the winter season begins.
