Statistics: A total of 18.3 million passengers flew via Finavia’s airports in 2023 – an increase of 19% year-on-year

“We actively seek to strengthen flight connections in cooperation with airlines and tourism organisations in order to improve the accessibility of Finland. In 2023, there were about 130 direct routes from Finland to destinations around the world. Last year, the number of passengers increased especially on European flights, but there has also been growth on long-haul flights to North America and Asia,” says Petri Vuori, Finavia’s Senior Vice President responsible for route development.

In 2023, a total of 18.3 million passengers (+19%) travelled via Finavia’s airports, of which 80% were flying on international flights and 20% on domestic flights. In 2022, there were 15.4 million passengers. In 2023, the total number of flight operations, i.e. take-offs and landings, was 179,960 (+8%).

The most popular flight destinations from Finavia’s airports were Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Paris. Of all the international flights, flights to Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK and Italy had the largest passenger numbers. Outside Europe, the most travelled-to countries were the United States, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and India.

Passenger Volume at Helsinki Airport continued to grow

Of all the passengers at Finavia airports, 84% flew via Helsinki Airport. In 2023, the number of passengers was 15.3 million (+19%), compared to 12.9 million the year before. Some 88% of the passengers took an international flight and 12% a domestic one.

The number of transfer passengers departing on international flights was 2.0 million (+27%) at Helsinki Airport. In 2022, that figure was 1.6 million. Despite the growth, transfer travel has not yet returned to the 2019 level of 3.6 million. The recovery is affected by the war started by Russia and the closure of the Russian airspace, which have an impact on flights between Asia and Europe.

Record numbers at Lapland airports

Finavia’s Lapland airports had a record number of passengers. A total of 547,773 passengers (+18%) travelled via Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo, Kuusamo and Kemi-Tornio airports during the tourist season of November–December 2023. Some 281,701 passengers (+29%) flew via Rovaniemi Airport alone, while 131,145 passengers (+12%) travelled via Kittilä Airport.

In 2023, a total of 1.5 million passengers (+20%) flew via Lapland airports. In 2022, the number of passengers was 1.2 million.

“In total, about half of the flights to Lapland are regular scheduled flights. During this winter season, up to 20 direct routes connected Lapland to Europe. Regular scheduled flights are very important for the attractiveness of the region and serve not only local residents but also the business community. The extensive onward connections offered by the routes attract passengers from a wider area,” Vuori says.

A total of 3.0 million passengers (+18%) travelled via Finavia’s regional airports last year. In 2022, that figure was 2.5 million.

Table: Statistics for 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Source: Finavia

In the text, the figures in millions have been rounded to one decimal place. The air traffic statistics have been published on the Traffic Statistics page.