December peak travel season at Helsinki Airport – see our tips for your flight

As Christmas Eve falls on a Tuesday this year, the busiest Christmas travel times will be spread over several days and outbound traffic will start gradually in the week before Christmas.

December air traffic will also be affected by, among other things, the Finnish Air Line Pilots' Association's industrial action on 9 and 13 December. Finnair's flights will be impacted by the industrial action.

We recommend that passengers always keep an eye on their airline's communications and follow the airline's recommendation on when to come to the airport and any other instructions.

Tips for coming to the airport

• Come to the airport well before your flight so that you will have enough time for bag drop, check-in and passing through security control. Your airline will let you know when check-in starts.

• Pre-book parking for your Christmas holiday to get the best price. It’s easy to park at Helsinki Airport, and the P2 building, for example, has wide parking spaces and a lift that goes to the terminal.

• You can check the predicted queue time for Helsinki Airport security control at home. This is a service piloted by Finavia that produces a prediction of the queue time for the next 12 hours. Finavia is collecting feedback on the piloted service via the feedback form on the website.

Tips for packing your bags

• Check Finavia's search engine to see what you can take with you on your flight. You should also check your airline's instructions for transporting skis and snowboards.

• Pack any Christmas food and other food items in checked baggage. Food items such as Christmas casseroles, pastries, jams, preserves and fish roe products must be transported in the cargo hold.

• Do not pack fireworks, sparklers or flammable products such as flammable ski waxes for your trip. It is prohibited to carry these items on an aircraft. Check the product in Finavia's search engine.

Start your Christmas holiday already at the airport

• Enjoy the festive atmosphere throughout the Helsinki Airport terminal. The shops, restaurants, kiosks, cafés and lounges in the terminal are open every day. There may be changes to opening hours on 24–25 December and 31 December.

• In December, you can meet Santa Claus in the terminal. Santa Claus will tour the airport from 15 December to 23 December between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. You can see Santa Claus with his elves in the gate area or at his station in the gate area accessed via security control.

• Visit the Christmas Cabin and Maja Living Room. They are located on the other side of passport control, in gate area 40–52. For the youngest members of the family, there is also a play area at gate 16.

• Subscribe to MyFlight for up-to-date and detailed information about the restaurants, services and shops near your departure gate.

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