“Giving up the airport was a big and tough decision for us—something we did not take lightly. The accessibility of Finland and great connections for Finns are crucial to us. However, we found ourselves in a difficult position when the Enontekiö runway and terminal buildings reached the end of their lifecycle and, because of the low traffic volumes, we didn’t have the opportunity to invest in a significant renovation,” says Kimmo Mäki, CEO of Finavia.
He hopes that with the airport will continue its operations under the new owner and that airlines can fly to Enontekiö also in the future.
The ownership of the airport will be transferred to the municipality of Enontekiö in July 2021, and the airport will be part of Finavia's airport network until then. From there onwards, the airport will be maintained by the municipality of Enontekiö. Finavia will support the municipality in the transitional stage as much as possible so that the ownership and starting the operations of the airport would move forward as smoothly as possible.
Jari Rantapelkonen, the mayor of the municipality of Enontekiö, says that the municipality will ensure the continuity of flights during the 2021–2022 season, and is looking for private partners to participate in the operations. After the transaction, the accessibility and tourism of Enontekiö will be developed from the starting points of the arctic area.
Enontekiö Airport was completed 40 years ago, and it has been part of Finavia’s airport network since 1988. The air traffic in Enontekiö has been largely concentrated to a few winter months, and the airport has catered to international tourist flights. Regular route traffic ended in 2018.
