A recent report by Airport Council International (ACI) Europe reveals that the recovery of Finland's air connectivity has been the second weakest in Europe compared to 2019. In practice, Finland’s Total Air Connectivity has decreased by 37% compared to the level before the COVID-19 pandemic. Total Air Connectivity measures direct routes and routes with onward connecting flights. Slovenia (-29%), Czechia (-28%) and Austria (-28%) join Finland at the bottom of the list.
"In air traffic, Finland is moving in the opposite direction compared to the rest of the Eurozone. Compared to other European airports, the recovery of passenger volumes at Helsinki Airport in particular has been slower than average. The situation of Finnish air traffic is particularly affected by geopolitics: Due to the effects of the Russian airspace ban, there are significantly fewer flights to Asia and there have been 45% fewer passengers on Asian routes than in 2019," says PetriVuori, Finavia’s Senior Vice President responsible for route development.
In Europe, air connectivity has recovered very unevenly. This is due to the fact that the reason for travel is increasingly leisure travel. This change in travel habits will increase air connectivity in Europe, especially to tourism-oriented countries. For example, Greece (+22%) and Portugal (+4%) have already exceeded the 2019 level in terms of their air connectivity level.*
This phenomenon can also be observed in Finland: Passenger numbers from Helsinki Airport to Mediterranean destinations are on the rise, driven by tourism. In the first half of 2024 passenger numbers on flights to Greece increased by +12.7%, to Spain by +5.7% and to Italy by +3.5% compared to the same period last year. In June 2024 passenger numbers to Italy have increased by +15.8%, to Greece by +9% and to Spain by +6,7% compared to June 2023.
"Leisure travel is increasingly driving travel. This global trend can also be seen in Finland. Based on passenger data from Helsinki Airport, Finns still want to travel to Mediterranean destinations in the summer," says Vuori.
Despite the steady growth, passenger numbers have only recovered to about 70% of the 2019 level. Of the reference airports, Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, for example, recovered to 87% of the 2019 level in January–June 2024 (Swedavia).
Leisure travel has also boosted growth in Lapland: business travel has decreased
In the first half of the year, 1.6 million passengers (+6.9%) travelled via Finavia’s 19 regional airports. The increase in passenger numbers was driven by Lapland’s record winter tourism season: almost 900,000 passengers passed through Rovaniemi, Ivalo, Kittilä and Kuusamo airports alone (+16%). This amounts to 55% of all passengers at Finavia’s regional airports.
"The increase in passenger numbers at Lapland airports reflects a global trend where the reason for travelling is increasingly leisure travel. On the other hand, business travel in Europe has decreased or increasingly shifted to rail.
The growing popularity of train travel is particularly evident in domestic travel in Europe. For example, domestic air travel has decreased in Germany by 52% and in Sweden by 38% since 2019*. Our assessment is that the reduction in business travel has been significantly influenced by the increase in remote work and meetings as well as the stricter travel policies of organisations," Vuori says.
This trend is particularly evident in Finland at airports where the reason for travelling has traditionally been business travel. In Finland, Oulu Airport is one of the traditional business travel airports. The airport's passenger numbers have recovered to only 52% of the 2019 level. Similarly, Turku has recovered to 59% and Vaasa to 55% of the 2019 level. Excluding Lapland airports, a total of 735,616 passengers (-2%) travelled via Finavia’s regional airports. This amounts to a 46% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.
The phenomenon can also be observed at the five Finavia regional airports that receive scheduled flights subsidised by the Finnish state. In the first half of 2019, a total of 210,692 passengers travelled via the airports of Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kemi-Tornio and Kokkola-Pietarsaari. In January–June 2024, the number was 80,237 (-62%).
Sources: Finavia statistics, Swedavia statistics, *ACI.
Finavia's air traffic statistics are published on the Traffic Statistics page.
List: The most popular routes and destinations
TOP 5:
Of all the international flights at Finavia airports, flights to Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands had the largest passenger numbers.
TOP 10:
The most popular destinations were Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Paris. The most popular long-haul destinations were Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Doha and Singapore.
TOP 3:
During the past six months, Finnair, Norwegian and Ryanair have increased their passenger volumes the most. There are currently more than 140 direct international routes from Finavia airports.
Table: Statistical summary, January–June 2024
| January–June 2024 | January–June 2023 | Percentage change | |
| Total passengers at Finavia airports | 9,368,489 | 8,990,542
| +4.2%
|
| Passengers at Helsinki Airport | 7,736,862 | 7,464,482
| +3.6%
|
| Transfer passengers departing on international flights | 975,940 | 981,849 | -0.6%
|
| Total freight volume at Finavia airports (tonnes) | 91,944 | 86,194
| +6.7%
|
| Freight volume at Helsinki Airport (tonnes) | 90,776 | 84,543 | +7.4%
|
| Total number of commercial flights at Finavia airports | 94,649 | 88,848
| +6.5 |
| Number of commercial flights at Helsinki Airport | 72,589 | 67,936
| +6.8 |
