THE FINAL JOURNEY

The CAA’s year was overshadowed by two tragic fatalities. Director General Mikko Talvitie (born 1945) died in a motorcar accident on his way to work on March 17th. Less than half a year later, on August 10th, we learned of the death of Jarkko Varjo (born 1960), managing director of the CAA subsidiary Airpro, in a helicopter accident.

Mikko Talvitie took over as Director General of the CAA in 1991, during a time of enormous change for the aviation administration body. The board of aviation became a commercial enterprise independent of the state budget and able to take its own decisions on its finances and capital spending. Under Talvitie’s stewardship the CAA initiated an extensive programme of renewal in which the passenger terminals at all the CAA airports operating scheduled fl ights were renovated and some expanded. During his term, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport grew and developed into one of the world’s leading airports, whilst the air navigation system covering the entire country was brought to peak performance.

Mikko Talvitie emphasised the CAA’s role as a service institution. In promoting aviation, his watchwords were excellent service, sensitivity to customer needs and a moderate but financially sound structure of charges.

The organisation’s staff and the entire aviation community were deeply shocked by Mikko Talvitie’s departure, for in him the CAA lost a determined, supportive and visionary leader.

Jarkko Varjo joined the CAA as marketing chief for the ground traffic unit at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in 1993. He was appointed head of development for the CAA in 1997 and two years later he became managing director of Suomen Lentoasemapalvelut Oy (Airpro).

Jarkko Varjo developed Airpro into a broad-ranged company with links right across the country. He constantly sought new business areas and was, for example, instrumental in creating budget fl ight operations at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport. We at the CAA will miss our colleague, who radiated so much light and positive spirit