British Airways' first scheduled flight from London Gatwick Airport to Ivalo landed on schedule at Ivalo Airport at 2:30 p.m. on 3 December. In the terminal, the guests who were there to welcome the passengers and crew had to wait a little while, as the snowy landscape and the first contact with snow made a large proportion of the passengers stop on the aircraft steps and the apron to admire the magic of Lapland.
Photo: The Christmas elves at the airport handed out sweets to British Airways passengers.
A large number of representatives from British Airways, Finavia and the airline's ground handling partner Airpro were present at the route opening ceremony. Tommi Kasurinen, the Mayor of Inari, was also there for the ceremony. Jarmo Pyhäjärvi, the Airport Manager of Ivalo Airport, opened the event and told the passengers departing for London that they are very welcome to visit Lapland again.
"Finavia works to ensure that more routes like this with regular scheduled flights to Finland are opened. Regular flights improve Finland's air connectivity and make it possible to develop tourism in Lapland. We warmly welcome British Airways to Ivalo, Finavia's northernmost airport," says Petri Vuori, Finavia's Senior Vice President responsible for route development.
During the winter season, British Airways will fly the London–Ivalo route twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Photo: Passengers were served gingerbread, glögi and chocolate. For some of the English passengers, this was the first time they tasted Finnish glögi.
Photo: The airline's representatives, the Mayor of Inari and the Airport Manager of Ivalo Airport cut the ribbon at the ceremony.
Detailed flight schedules and tickets are available on the airline's website.
