KITTILÄ ADDS TERMINAL SPACE

The CAA opened the new extension to the Kittilä Airport building on November 21st 2005. The work, which began in April, has brought a considerable improvement to the airport’s check-in and waiting facilities and in particular has made the busiest Christmas time charter services easier. The new facilities now make it possible to provide check-in services for two 250 seat aircraft at the same time.

“To ease traffic flows we needed to be able to easily modify the extra space to meet the winter season challenges,” said Seppo Sakaranaho, who headed the Kittilä Airport expansion and renovation project. “Charter flights and basic spring traffic bring in huge numbers of passengers, but the new expansion has allowed us to unplug this bottleneck. We also needed more space for handling baggage, in line with the new security regulations,” he added.

Built of steel, timber and concrete, the extension, with its modern lines has been adjoined to the architecturally older terminal. A corridor links the older building to the high, new extension. Designed by architect Martti Karsikka, the extension cost 5.3 million euros in total, and was financed by the CAA and the Lapland Employment and Economic Development Centre (LEEDC). The 2.5 million euro assistance from the LEEDC was decisive in getting the scheme moving. Building work will continue at Kittilä even after the expansion, with renovation of the old section continuing until autumn 2006. The second phase of the work will cover facilities for arriving passengers and external funding has been sought for this.

“The importance of the airport is overwhelming for the tourist industry in the whole of the Lapland fells region,” said Seppo Maula, municipal manager for Kittilä. “It affects such places as Kolari, Muonio, Ylläs, Olos, Pallas and Levi. “Tourism accounts for two thirds of the incomes within the entire Kittilä local authority area. New holiday accommodation is being built apace, since tourists are increasingly tending to spend several days in the area. The airport expansion naturally raises new hopes and expectations in this regard.”