Over 16 million air travel passengers

The fantastic growth in traffic to Asia continues

2006 was again characterised by a rapid growth in air traffic. The number of passengers at Finavia’s airports grew by 8 per cent on 2005. While the news on surpassing the 11 million passenger mark was reported with joy the previous year at Helsinki-Vantaa, this year there were more than 12 million passenger.

There was strong growth in international traffic in particular: there were 10 per cent more passengers than in 2005. Domestic traffic increased by just over 4 per cent on 2005. The strike by Finnair in October showed up temporarily especially in the figures for domestic traffic, but after the strike traffic soon returned to normal. After Helsinki-Vantaa, the next busiest airports measured by passenger numbers were Oulu, Tampere-Pirkkala, Rovaniemi, Turku and Kuopio. The number of passengers at Oulu Airport was around 850,000 and Tampere-Pirkkala Airport clearly broke the 600,000 barrier; similarly the number of passengers at Rovaniemi exceeded the 400,000 passenger boundary. The number of passengers at Vaasa exceeded the 300,000 mark. The highest proportional growth in the figures for passenger numbers was achieved at the airports in Mariehamn (35 %), Enontekiö (27 %) and Rovaniemi (12 %). Passenger numbers also grew at Savonlinna (11 %) and Kuusamo (10 %). Th e greatest reduction in passenger numbers occurred at the airports in Varkaus (-24 %), Kajaani (-7 %) and Joensuu (-5 %), although traffic at Varkaus and Kajaani was totally suspended for part of the year due to either contractual reasons or runway repair work.

Traffic from Finland to Asia increased in 2006 by as much as 31 per cent (departing and transit passengers). Passengers to Asia numbered 465,000 in 2006, whereas this figure was around 355,000 passengers in the previous year. The total traffic between Asia and Finland (departing, arriving and transit passengers) increased 31 per cent on 2005 and exceeded the 920,000 passenger mark during the year.

The role of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport as a transit airport was further strengthened. The number of gateway passengers to Asia increased in 2006 by a record 34 per cent to 256,000 passengers. The total number of gateway passengers increased 21 per cent and almost reached the 700,000 passenger mark.

The most popular destinations in Asia were China (+24 %), Thailand (+27 %) and Japan (+33 %). The most rapid growth in traffic to Asia was to Malaysia (+153 %), India (+106 %) and Hong Kong (+65 %).

The most popular destinations in Europe were Sweden (+6 %), Germany (+11 %) and Great Britain (+19 %). The busiest scheduled air services were again to Sweden (+6 %), Germany (+11 %) and Denmark (-1 %). The most popular destinations for charter flights were the Canary Islands (+11 %), Greece (+0 %) and Great Britain (+26 %).

Christmas traffic in Northern Finland clearly revived after a quieter year in 2005. There were 17 per cent more passengers in December than in December 2005. The number of charter passengers arriving in Lapland in December 2006 was 30 per cent higher than for the corresponding period in 2005.

Rovaniemi and Kittilä were again the busiest airports for Christmas traffic. The number of international passengers
at Rovaniemi Airport was 18 per cent higher than in 2005. The surge in passenger numbers at Kittilä almost brought the figure to the level of Rovaniemi. The growth in international traffic at Kittilä Airport was 37 per cent compared with December 2005. The biggest growth in international traffi c at Christmas was at Kuusamo Airport (58 %).

Once again the greatest number of international passengers arriving in Northern Finland at Christmas came from Great Britain, and their number increased by 27 per cent on the previous year. After Britain, the greatest number of Christmas tourists came from Russia, Ireland and France. The number of visitors from Russia, in particular, increased significantly by around 60 per cent. A significant number of direct charter flights arrived in Lapland from such countries as France, Spain and Holland.

The increase in the number of overflights that has taken place since the turn of the new millennium continued to grow. The number of overflights was 6 per cent higher than in the preceding year. SAS’s market share of all overflights was clearly the greatest (17 %). Lufthansa’s share remained at the 5 per cent level. Japan Airlines increased its share on the previous year and accounts for 6 per cent of overflights.

The number of air traffic operations (take-offs and landings) remained at almost the same level as in 2005. There were 1 per cent fewer landings than in 2005. The amount of cargo traffic increased 8 per cent on the previous year.

DOMESTIC TRAFFIC DESTINATIONS 2006 INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC DESTINATIONS 2006 I INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC DESTINATIONS 2006 II DOMESTIC TRAFFIC 1996-2006 HELSINKI-VANTAA AIRPORT PASSENGERS 1996-2006 OVERFLIGHTS 1996-2006 PASSENGERS 1996-2006 AIRPORT PASSENGERS 2005-2006 FLIGHTS 1996-2006 INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC 1996–2006 AIRPORT PASSENGERS 2005-2006 CARGO TRAFFIC 1996-2006