THE OUTLOOK FOR 2006

At the beginning of 2006 the official functions of the Civil Aviation Administration were separated off into a newly formed body called the Civil Aviation Authority. It will be the business of the remaining commercial enterprise (called Finavia) to manage airport and air navigation activities in Finland and commercial activities related to them. For the first time, a new Act governing state owned commercial enterprises will apply to the Civil Aviation Administration (Finavia) from January 1st 2006.

The trend in air transport is expected to be favourable during 2006. The Civil Aviation Administration has predicted that passenger volumes will rise by about 3 % in 2006. There will also be a slight increase in the number of flights.

Despite this favourable trend the profit from Finavia’s business operations is expected to decline slightly in 2006 compared with 2005. However, it seems likely that the profit target of 17 million euros set for Finavia will be exceeded. In assessing business profitability, however, we should note that Finavia is dependent on the economy in general.

Finavia is planning to invest in developing commercial activities particularly at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and improving customer service standards by investing heavily in the airport in the coming years.