In its press release, the City of Vantaa states that the health authorities will check the COVID-19 certificates of all passengers arriving from high-risk countries at Helsinki Airport starting from 26 July. This is to ensure health security as EU internal border control ends.
The Finnish Border Guard provides administrative assistance and checks the certificates of non-Schengen passengers and directs the passengers to be tested for COVID-19 at the airport, if necessary.
The high-risk country limit is currently more than 10 new cases per 100,000 persons in the last two weeks.
The entry model to be adopted may occasionally lead to airport congestion for arriving passengers.
Prepare to show your documents
Under the Communicable Diseases Act, the arriving passengers must present certificates upon arrival in the country. It is a good idea to have the documents at hand to allow for a smooth check. Passengers who do not have the necessary evidence of vaccinations, confirmation of having been infected with COVID-19 or a negative test result will be directed to be tested for COVID-19.
If the passenger does not have any COVID-19 vaccinations or a certificate of a negative COVID-19 test, they must go to the first test immediately upon arrival and to the second test 72–120 hours later.
If the passenger has received one COVID-19 vaccination at least two weeks before or has a certificate of a negative test, they should only take the second test.
Fully vaccinated passengers do not need to go to the test if at least two weeks have elapsed since their last vaccination.
Finentry speeds up arrival in the country
The use of the Finentry service makes arriving in Finland much easier. You can register for the service already in your country of origin. The passenger receives instructions on the necessary COVID-19 tests and can book a test appointment. However, passengers can always go to a COVID-19 test at the airport if they wish to do so.
On Monday, 12 July, Finavia reopened Terminal 1 due to the additional space required by health security processes and the slight increase in the number of passengers. In addition to the departures and arrivals halls, Finavia will open additional space for passengers in the gate area.
Since the beginning of 2020, Finavia has been enhancing communications with passengers on hygiene guidelines, improving the cleaning of surfaces at airports and changing passenger processes so that the requirements in force can be met.
More information is also available on the THL website Travel and the coronavirus pandemic and on the Covid19-info website of the Finnish Border Guard.
