Finland is geographically isolated and can be connected to the world in only one way: through air traffic. Alongside economic policy and a good education and innovation system, air traffic is one of the three major factors of competition without which Finland cannot succeed in the competition of a globalised world.

THE NETWORK OF AIRPORTS

In a sparsely populated country with long distances between cities, it is particularly important that all of Finland’s economic areas are connected to the global network. Therefore, it is not enough that Helsinki has good connections to the world, but Oulu and Rovaniemi must also have access to the world market. To make this possible, Finland needs a network of airports that covers all of the country’s economic regions.

The 25 airports maintained by Finavia, with Helsinki-Vantaa as the centre of the network, form the basis from which Finns reach the world. Thanks to Helsinki- Vantaa, Finns have better air connections to the world than, for example, Swedes do through Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport.

FINLAND’S POSITION AS A GATEWAY

The main purpose of Finavia’s operations is to create the prerequisites for the mobility of Finns and the competitiveness and internationality of Finnish society and its various regions through safe, high-quality and cost-efficient air traffic services. Finavia’s operations are financed in their entirety from the revenue that it receives from the services provided to its customers. This is a particularly challenging task in a country that is geographically isolated, has a small population and where distances are great.

Nevertheless, we have succeeded in turning this situation to our advantage. Although our country is situated far away from the rest of Europe and is a kind of “island” located behind the Baltic Sea, the situation looks different from a global perspective. Finland is located at the midpoint of air traffic routes running from Europe to Asia and from India to the United States and thus Helsinki-Vantaa is a natural gateway for travellers from Asia to Europe or in the other direction.

Finavia’s objective is to maintain Helsinki- Vantaa’s strong gateway position in the future, as Finns’ good air connections to the rest of the world are based on it. When the gate to Europe is opened for Asians through Helsinki, it opens for Finns at the same time. It would be impossible to provide this level of air services if the demand was created only by the needs of Finns.

PREREQUISITES FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

Finavia’s operations are very important for Finnish industry and commerce. In addition to the connections to Europe, Helsinki- Vantaa’s strong position as a gateway to Asian traffic opens new opportunities for Finnish industry. Thanks to the frequent fl ights to Asia, Finns gain access to the rapidly growing Asian markets.

The indirect effects of the Asian traffic reach all of Finland, from the south to the most northern reaches of Lapland, as the income from the traffic through Helsinki- Vantaa is used to finance the parts of the network of airports that are important for Finnish industry and commerce and the mobility of Finns but which lack the 300,000 annual passengers needed to support an airport profitably.

Helsinki-Vantaa also feeds traffic into all of Finland. With the growth in tourism and the greater recognition for Finland that comes with it, our country becomes more attractive, and provinces located in various parts of Finland gain new development opportunities and sources of income. An airport is a major employer: about one thousand jobs are created for every one million passengers. Helsinki-Vantaa is like a small town: about one thousand organisations operate in its area and 14,000 employees work there. It has been calculated that our main national airport produces over 3 per cent of Finland’s gross national product.

SAFETY

Safety is the starting point of all of Finavia’s operations, and we work to ensure it in every situation. Finavia’s safety operations include air traffic safety and the security of passengers and baggage. Finavia is continually developing the safety of its own operations and the quality assurance operations connected to it. Risk management is a material part of our internal control system.

AN AIRPORT IS A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Finavia is strongly committed to promoting Finland’s competitiveness and the wellbeing of Finns. Our aim is safe, regular and economic air transport that puts as little pressure on the environment as possible. Finavia wants an airport to be a good neighbour and an attractive environment, next to which it is good to live and work. The Aviapolis area, including the lauded Kartanonkoski residential areas, that has grown up around Helsinki-Vantaa is a good example of an airport as a successful neighbour. Now similar areas are also being planned around some other Finavia airports.

CUSTOMER-ORIENTED OPERATIONS

Finavia operates in a customer-oriented manner and in accordance with a code of ethics. Finavia’s objective is to provide customers with the capacity that meets their demand, and the company listens carefully to the wishes and needs of customers, airlines and air passengers. All of Finavia’s infrastructure, such as airport buildings, runways, car park buildings or Finland’s first airport hotel, Hilton, has arisen in response to demand.

BUILT-UP INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN TOP-NOTCH CONDITION

Finnish built-up property for air traffic is of the highest quality. Finavia has a skilled design and construction organisation. This is shown by the ROTI study of the state and the development of built-up property in which the air traffic network maintained by Finavia is the only traffic network that was awarded an excellent grade. Finavia’s work sets an excellent example for road, street, railway and waterborne traffic networks.

CAPACITY FOR REFORM

Despite its good geographic location as a gateway, the success of Helsinki-Vantaa, Finavia’s main airport – and by extension the success of Finland – is not guaranteed. International competition between European airports is intense. Given the intense competition, Finavia must provide services at the best European level: the services must be safe and of high quality. Good services and cost-efficiency are the result of successful business operations.

That is why capacity for reform is important for Finavia. Finavia improved its business control further during the year under review by adopting a division of its operations into five business areas which is enshrined in its strategy (Airports, Air Navigation Services, Commercial Operations, Real Estate Operations, and Airpro). Through these business areas, Finavia will deepen Its customer-orientation, transparency and comprehensiveness of its operations. All of Finavia’s income derives from customers so that its ability to invest, and thus its future, depends on the profit achieved. Security also requires successful business operations.

MOTIVATED PERSONNEL

Competent, motivated and enthusiastic personnel form the foundation for the quality of Finavia’s services and the strategic reform of the organisation. Finavia wants to be a skilfully managed organisation that encourages its employees to work together and reform operations. Finavia is continually developing its personnel and management. In this way, customer-oriented and environmentallyfriendly operating procedures are implemented throughout the whole organisation – helping to create opportunities for Finland to succeed in the intensifying global competition.