Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo airports will be considerably expanded and more services will be added in response to rapid growth in the number of passengers. The work will begin in early May.
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. With this development programme, Finavia’s investment in Lapland’s tourism industry in the next few years will increase to nearly EUR 100 million, says 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.
The investment programme now being launched by Finavia will allow Lapland’s airports to serve two million passengers a year.
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.
Investments in environmental protection will be made at the same time. 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 to expand by over 75%
Finavia will carry out a massive expansion at Rovaniemi Airport. 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.
Modern passenger facilities will be added to the baggage reclaim area and other areas, and the café area will quadruple in size. A new passenger boarding bridge that makes boarding faster will be installed in the terminal. After this, Rovaniemi Airport will have three passenger boarding bridges.
The Rovaniemi Airport expansion project will be completed by the Christmas season of 2019.
Two new taxiways and a terminal expansion for Kittilä Airport
At Kittilä Airport, 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.
Finavia will increase the capacity and smoothness of air traffic by building two new taxiways: a short one and a long one. In addition, the number of aircraft stands will be increased to 13. A large part of the new air traffic infrastructure will be ready by the 2018–2019 winter season, and the rest will be ready by the next winter season.
New aircraft stands and more space for arrivals for Ivalo Airport–
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 development programme at Lapland’s airports will last for two years
– The expansion work at all airports will start in early May 2018. The plan is to finish all the work by December 2019, says Mäki.
The work will be carried out in phases so that Finavia will be able to respond to potential changes in market conditions.
The expansion work at Lapland’s airports will be carried out in a way that will not affect air or passenger traffic or cause any service interruptions.
