EUR 55m expansion programme taken at Lapland airports

Finavia, the company operates country´s airports, launches a programme from early May to expand more services at the Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo airports in response to rapid growth in the number of passengers, said an official press release.

“Finavia’s large-scale investment of around EUR 55 million will enable the further growth of Lapland’s tourism industry and increase Finland’s accessibility and competitiveness,” said Kimmo Mäki, CEO of Finavia.

There has been record-breaking growth in the number of passengers at Lapland’s airports, and last year the number of passengers reached 1.3 million. The growth from the previous year was 23 per cent. Rovaniemi (+19%), Kittilä (+26%) and Ivalo (+17%) airports grew the most.

According to Mäki, the aim of the development programme at Lapland’s airports is to improve the customer experience and service level and increase capacity as well as to ensure safe traffic even as the number of flights and passengers grows.

Finavia will make the recovery and recycling of the glycol used in aircraft de-icing more efficient, thereby reducing the environmental impact of air traffic on bodies of water.

Rovaniemi Airport’s passenger terminal will be expanded by 75 per cent. The space for passengers will increase from the current 6,000 square metres to about 10,500 square metres. The new facilities will make the terminal more spacious and comfortable. The hourly capacity of the airport will increase from the current three planes to five planes.

The Rovaniemi Airport expansion project will be completed by the Christmas season of 2019.

Meanwhile, two new taxiways and a terminal expansion programme will be taken for Kittilä Airport where Finavia will considerably expand both the terminal and the air traffic infrastructure.

The service level will be improved by the Christmas season of 2018 with the opening of the extension for departing passengers. The new facilities will include services such as a second café. New space will also be added to the passport control for arriving passengers. The expansion will add a total of 2,000 square metres of new space.

At Ivalo Airport, Finavia will build new aircraft stands, which will nearly double the aircraft parking capacity and thus increase the smoothness of air traffic. The number of aircraft stands will increase from four to seven by the winter of 2018.

The space for passengers will increase by 1,000 square metres. The new baggage reclaim hall will free up space for the whole terminal, thus making the space more comfortable and improving the customer experience. The terminal extension will be ready by the winter of 2019.

The expansion works at Lapland’s airports will be carried out in a way that will not affect air or passenger traffic or cause any service interruptions.