Finavia, the Finnish airport operator, says it is investing €13.5m in the promotion of tourism in Lapland through the renovation and expansion of Ivalo Airport, the northernmost airport in European Union.

 

The airport’s traffic areas will also be renovated. The investment will be implemented in 2014 and 2015.

 

The terminal renovation and the traffic area improvement work will make travels smoother, while enabling an increase of traffic volume.

 

“There will be more space, and bottlenecks will be eliminated”, says Joni Sundelin, Business Director responsible for network airports at Finavia.

 

COMPLETION DUE SPRING 2015

“Finavia believes in the appeal that tourism in Lapland has. The airport must serve air passengers in a professional, cost-effective way that matches the demand”, Sundelin continues.

 

Last year, more than 146,000 passengers passed through Ivalo Airport and the volume of passengers increased slightly YOY, surpassing volume at most other airports in Finland.

 

The renovation will focus on the security check line, the gate area’s waiting facilities, the café and shop area, and the customs and passport control facilities.

 

According to the current estimate, the terminal expansion will be completed in spring 2015. An introduction inspection will take place after the renovation project in November 2015.

 

“Finavia’s goal is to ensure the airports operate efficiently; but after that, the region’s appealing tourism services and businesses are needed to attract air traffic and tourists”, says Sundelin.

 

In addition to Ivalo Airport, investments will be launched this year in Tampere, Turku and Rovaniemi. In addition, several airports will implement smaller changes to improve comfort and service selection. This year, about €35mwill be invested in network airports.

 

Finavia provides and develops airport and air navigation services with focus on safety, customer-orientation and cost efficiency. Finavia’s comprehensive network of 25 airports enables international connections from Finland — and to different parts of Finland. Helsinki Airport is the leading Northern European transit airport for long-haul traffic. Revenues in 2013 were EUR 353m, and the number of employees 2800.