Airport and air navigation fees increased by 1.9% from 2015 to match costs according to a consulting process overseen by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency. Finavia's airport fees are very low in comparison to the rest of Europe.
From 2004–2016, the real annual decrease in Finavia’s service prices was 1%.
“We have improved Finavia's cost-efficiency with a determined approach. As a result, the real prices of airport and air navigation fees in Finland have decreased regardless of major investments and the impact of regulation on our cost level. This has been pivotal to the competitiveness of air traffic in Finland. The moderate increase for this year is primarily based on the increase in the cost level, which is caused by bigger investment needs in safety technology due to official requirements, for example”, says Joni Sundelin, SVP, Finavia.
Airport and air navigation fees constitute a rough average of a couple of per cent of airline costs.
Support for small aircraft aviation continues
In addition to commercial passenger traffic, Finavia airports have other customer groups that include state aviation and military aviation, as well as general aviation and recreational aviation.
Finavia applies uniform pricing at its airports. Air traffic fees are affected by aircraft weight and number of passengers, for example. In the pricing system, the costs for aircraft with no passengers are substantially smaller than those for passenger aircraft.
Season card pricing is available for recreational aviators and professional small aircraft aviation operators (lift-off weight under 2,000 kg). This makes inexpensive small aircraft aviation possible. For example, a one-year season card for a four-seat Cessna 172R (common among recreational aviators), valid outside the Helsinki region costs EUR 728. In practice, this means that an active recreational aviator’s visit at an airport will only cost a couple of euros. There will be no changes to the season card pricing of recreational aviation in season 2016.
The minimum landing fee sum at network airports will be increased to EUR 30. The change applies to recreational aviators and professional small aircraft operators that do not have a season card and use the lightest aircraft. In practice, this means that without a season card in 2015, a visit with a Cessna 172R at an airport cost EUR 17 (including the air navigation fee), and will cost EUR 35 in 2016.
“Our original plan was to harmonise the minimum landing fee for network airports with the Helsinki level, i.e. to EUR 55, but after discussions with recreational and general aviators, and after receiving feedback, we decreased the planned fee rise so that the minimum fee is EUR 30 in 2016. The inexpensive season card is a sensible choice for our small aircraft aviation customers, and particularly for those who frequently use our services. We do understand that many recreational aviators may consider an increase of EUR 18 in the minimum fee to be high. However, we were forced to adjust the price due to cost pressure”, says Sundelin.
“To us, it is important to maintain the preconditions for small aircraft aviation at Finavia airports, but we also have to make sure that we treat different customer groups equally enough. Our profit from small aircraft aviation does not match the costs, but is below margin by several million Euros”, says Sundelin.
General background information
The infrastructure (airports and air navigation system) and services of air traffic in Finland are funded by the business profit of Finavia. Finavia’s profit mainly comprises services sold to airlines and air passengers.
The airport and air navigation service fees paid by air traffic operators in Finland do not cover the costs. Therefore, the finance of Finavia – just like that of other European airport operators – directly relies on the services sold to passengers.
Finavia’s airport fees are low compared to the rest of Europe. Helsinki Airport prices are lower than that of any other European hub airports. In addition, provincial airports have a competitive price level compared to Sweden or the UK, for example. The real decrease in Finavia's prices in 2004–2016 is 11.7%, i.e. 1% per year.
For more information about Finavia's service terms, please visit: https://www.finavia.fi/en/airlines/airport-charges/
