The Air Navigation Operations is responsible for controlling the use of Finnish airspace and providing air navigation services at Finavia’s airports. The objective is to offer airlines and actors in military and general aviation safe, smooth, undelayed services that are seen to be efficient by the users of the airspace.

The Air Navigation Operations organisation is divided into three parts: Operational air navigation is responsible for the various service concepts of air navigation, their development and operations, as well as finances. Technical air navigation is responsible for the operation and finances of air navigation systems. The headquarters coordinates the implementation of planning and development and cooper ation with the authorities connected to air navigation.

UNCONGESTED OPERATIONS AND ADDITIONAL CAPACITY

Airlines choose the routes they fl y in upper airspace according to what is most appropriate, economical and smooth for them. Finland’s location is geographically optimal for many fl ight-paths but Finavia’s air navigation services compete with services offered by Scandinavian and Central European countries.

In long-haul transport to Asia, airlines compare Helsinki-Vantaa and Finavia’s air navigation services with Arlanda, Kastrup, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, London’s Heathrow, Vienna and some other of the largest airports in Europe and their air navigation services.

When comparing prices between competing airports and alternative routes, Finavia is placed in the top three in terms of affordability. In addition to competitive prices, Finland offers uncongested airspace and fl exible capacity. The airspaces of Denmark and southern Sweden are already to some extent part of the congested area in Central Europe.

KEY EVENTS IN 2007

In December 2007, the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority granted Finavia a new licence for the provision of air navigation services. The licence is valid until 2012. In November 2007, Helsinki-Vantaa introduced independent approach routes in which aircraft can land on two parallel runways, i.e. runways 1 and 3, at the same time independently of each other. Independent approach routes enable the fl exible utilisation of Helsinki-Vantaa’s total runway capacity of 80 operations according to the demand for departing and arriving traffic.

Thanks to the new air traffic control system, Helsinki-Vantaa has become one of the most modern airports in Europe, as the independent approach method is used only in Helsinki, Paris, Amsterdam and Munich. The fl exibility of air navigation services is being developed further. The objective of HELMA, a project to develop Helsinki’s ground transport which continues in 2008, is that Helsinki-Vantaa’s operations can be divided between two runways more fl exibly than before even in conditions of poor visibility.

Another of the most important projects in 2007 was the reform of the air traffic control systems of joint operation airports. Joint operation airports have a significant amount of military air traffic and at them Finavia provides air traffic services for the Finnish Air Force in an integrated system and builds the infrastructure needed by the Air Force. The joint operation airports are: Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Rovaniemi and Tampere-Pirkkala.

After the project has been completed, all of the joint operation airports will have uniform devices and air traffic control systems representing the latest technology. The new air traffic control tower buildings at Kuopio and Rovaniemi airports with their highly modern devices can be taken into use in the early part of 2008. Finavia forecasts that by the end of 2008, the new air traffic control systems will also be in use in Jyväskylä and Tampere-Pirkkala, i.e. at least at all the largest joint operation airports.

FEWER DELAYS THAN AT OTHER DESTINATIONS IN EUROPE

In 2007, delays caused by Finavia’s own operations were fewer than destinations in Europe, and less than at international destinations. The quality of Finavia’s air navigation is based in a material way on cooperation between Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Area Control Centres. The fact that Finland’s airspace is not as congested as the airspace of Central Europe also helped to reduce delays.

Delays caused by Finavia’s operations have fallen 1.35 per cent in 2003 to 0.57 per cent. The progress has been even better at the Area Control Centres: the number of delays has decreased from 1.9 per cent to 0.12 per cent. The performance in 2007 can be considered to be excellent as the major renovations of runways and aprons were carried out at Helsinki-Vantaa. It was also possible to provide the Finnish Air Force with the operating requirements it needed without any restrictions.

In addition to undelayed service, smoothness includes the ability to allow the approach of landing aircraft without delays or the need to take a circuitous route. This reduces costs for airlines and conserves the environment.

OUTLOOK

European airspace is becoming congested due to the growth in air traffic. To ensure the safety and smoothness of air traffic and despite the increase in traffic, the European Union wishes to examine traffic fl ows and develop the use of airspace regardless of the borders of Member States.

The area formed by the combination of the airspaces of all Member States of the European Union is known as the Single European Sky. The EU aims to create more efficient and uniform operating models inside the Single European Sky.

The first step in the integration of national airspaces has been the attempt to create functional airspace segments that cross national boundaries that would serve the needs of air traffic better than the present arrangements. The growth of Helsinki-Vantaa’s runway capacity and the fact that Finland’s airspace is less congested than airspace in Central Europe, will enable an increase in the numbers of scheduled fl ights and overfl ights in the future.

IFR FLIGHTS	DOMESTIC FLIGHTS	INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS	OVERFLIGHTS	TOTAL
SOUTHERN FINLAND (TAMPERE)	81 264	139 426	30 198	250 888
NORTHERN FINLAND (ROVANIEMI)	27 863	3 148	7 511	38 522
IN ALL OF FINLAND	62 063	139 686	36 101	237 850