January 2021
The renovation of Kittilä Airport was completed in January 2021. Finavia invested in the development of baggage handling, check-in and security control.
February 2021
Finavia started using Napapiirin Energia’s carbon-neutral district heating at Rovaniemi Airport.
March 2021
Helsinki Airport was selected as the best European airport in its size category in 2020. The Airport Service Quality Award (ASQ) was presented by Airports Council International (ACI). Helsinki Airport also received recognition for its hygiene measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
April 2021
Runway 1 at Helsinki Airport was reopened in April. The runway had been temporarily closed since November 2020 due to the decrease in the number of flights caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 2021
Finland’s oldest passenger aircraft, a nearly 80-year-old DC-3, returned to Helsinki Airport for the summer. Finavia made several special arrangements to make it possible for the DC-3 aircraft to fly from Helsinki Airport in its current form. The reduced traffic volume caused by COVID-19 created the opportunity for this rare occasion.
Finavia decided to renovate the air traffic area of Helsinki Airport in summer 2021 by carrying out a project valued at EUR 7 million. The goal was to ensure smooth taxiing and apron operations for aircraft as well as further improve stormwater management.
June 2021
The terminal extension project under Finavia’s Helsinki Airport development programme won the Tekla BIM Award for the use of data modelling. Finavia has used data modelling since 2006 and its use has continued throughout the 10-year Helsinki Airport development programme.In the implementation of the Terminal 2 extension project, data modelling has been used by all of the partners involved in the development programme.
July 2021
Finavia’s EUR 5 million investment in the runway at Mariehamn Airport was completed in July. The goals of Finavia’s climate programme were incorporated into decision-making right from the planning phase of the project.
The runway renovation project at Joensuu Airport was completed. Finavia’s EUR 1 million investment extended the service life of the runway and ensured that airlines can continue to fly to Joensuu in the future.
August 2021
Kaivopuisto Air Show 2021 took place at the beginning of August and attracted a large audience to the centre of Helsinki. Several aircraft participating in the air show used Helsinki Airport as their base. Finavia was a partner of Kaivopuisto Air Show 2021. More information
September 2021
The Helsinki Airport development programme, launched by Finavia nearly eight years earlier, reached an important milestone in early September with the opening of the last of the facilities and services for non-Schengen flights. The extension of the long-haul flight area at Helsinki Airport is now fully completed.
October 2021
In October, Finavia was awarded international BREEAM certification as proof of the development programme’s comprehensive sustainability work concerning the expansion of the long-haul flight area. The development of Aukio and the West Pier as part of the project achieved a rating of ‘Excellent’ in the certification. The development programme also won the Project of the Year Award presented by Project Professionals Finland.
November 2021
Helsinki Airport’s development programme won multiple awards in November. The development programme project received the RIL Award 2021 presented by the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers RIL.
The extension of Terminal 2 won the prestigious Steel Structure of the Year Award and the Construction Site of the Year Award.
December 2021
The new extension of Terminal 2, part of Finavia’s development programme, was opened to passengers at the beginning of December. The terminal’s stunning new departures and arrivals halls and modern parking facility are now open. The traffic arrangements of Terminal 2 were updated at the same time. On the opening day, passengers travelling through the airport were greeted with a small ceremony in the departures and arrivals halls, as well as with special offers in the new restaurants, shops and services.
Read more about the new extension
The Christmas season started in earnest at Finavia’s airports in Lapland in December. The return of several airlines and the opening of new routes were also celebrated. The new routes include Paris–Rovaniemi, Düsseldorf–Rovaniemi and Milan–Rovaniemi. Information on new and reopened routes launched earlier in the autumn is available in the newsroom.
