“The year 2018 as a whole was a time of growth for Finavia. The implementation of the renewed strategy continued in the fourth quarter. We carried out value discussions with the personnel about how Finavia’s values are reflected in daily work. Finavia’s strategic focus areas are the best flight connections in the Nordics, responsible growth, exceptional customer experience and growth and profitability as enablers of further development. We received the first indications of successful strategy implementation in November, when Finavia reached its all-time highest customer satisfaction,” says Kimmo Mäki, CEO of Finavia Corporation.
The global economic situation continued strong, supporting the passenger volume growth together with global trends. Towards the end of the year, airlines increased their capacity, and the occupancy rates of airplanes remained high. International traffic increased more strongly at Helsinki Airport than at other Nordic main airports and, for example, Heathrow and Amsterdam airports. In 2018, the passenger volume in international traffic grew by 10.7%. Copenhagen showed an increase of 4.2% and Stockholm 1.9%. In the fourth quarter, Lapland continued to increase its attractiveness as a travel destination, and passenger volumes at Lapland’s airports grew in 2018 by nearly nine per cent.
Actions pertaining to the development programme continued as planned
The Helsinki Airport development programme continued in the fourth quarter as planned and in schedule. The central plaza, Aukio, of the expansion of Terminal 2 was completed at the end of 2018. In other regards, preparatory works for the expansion were continued and project planning proceeded as expected.
Investment programmes at other Finavia airports proceeded according to plan, as well. In the EUR 55 million investment programme of Lapland’s airports, the expansions of the terminal and apron at Kittilä airport as well as the apron expansion of Ivalo airport were completed in the targeted schedule before the Christmas season. Other work pertaining to the investment programme continues and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
In 2019, Finavia’s focus is on carrying out development programmes as planned. During the expansion projects, the company strives to maintain an exceptional customer experience in line with its strategy. Passenger volumes are expected to increase in 2019 but not as strongly as during 2018.
Business review January−December 2018
