The safety and quality of service at CAA airports remained
high. It is true that delays, resulting from regulations
in the use of airport and air navigation capacity, did increase
temporarily from their low 2003 level of 2.3 % of flights,
yet according to statistics from the Association of European
Airlines (AEA) Helsinki-Vantaa was still Europe’s
second most punctual airport.
The temporary rise in delays was the result of deliberate
reductions in capacity which were necessary for the introduction
of the area control center’s new air navigation system,
and because of runway repairs at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
The 40 million euro terminal extension at Helsinki-Vantaa,
completed at the end of 2004, improved passenger service
standards for both intercontinental flights and flights
outside the Schengen area. The project paid special attention
to the needs of transit passengers and for the repeat security
checks which are carried out under EU norms when passengers
change planes.
The Jyväskylä Airport passenger terminal was
also given a long awaited expansion and modernisation.
