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Helsinki Airport’s iconic Departures screen will retire soon

Article published
3.3.2020 at 08:38
Archived
A couple in front of the big screen at Helsinki Airport
People & Aviation
Unforgettable adventures and travels have started below the Terminal 2 Departures screen. After 21 years of service, the Departure screen’s technology is reaching its end.

Known in the airport community as the ”big screen”, it has been a famous meeting point both for passengers and staff. From 1999 onwards passengers have started their travels, met friends and colleagues, said goodbyes, laughed and cried too, all under the screen.

Several rows have already darkened and the screen does not display all flights to passengers at the Departures hall. Finavia wants to ensure real-time and up-to-date information all the way to the departure gate. Finavia also researched if repairing the screen would be possible, but there are no spareparts available anymore. Currently it is considered, if the dimmed screen will be covered and/or removed later on.

Up-to-date flight- and bag drop counter details are available from several monitors in the departures hall. More monitors will be installed in the near future. All information is available also at Finavia.fi website, in the Helsinki Airport app and in air carriers own online channels.

Finavia has asked passengers to share their memories and pictures in Finavia and Helsinki Airport social media channels to possibly compile a video from them.

Retirement of the soon-to-be closed Departures screen can also be seen a milestone towards the new and upcoming Helsinki Airport entrance. The most extensive expansion project in the history of Helsinki Airport is under way. The beautiful new Helsinki Airport entrance with new departure and arrival halls is to be opened in 2022 in front of the current departures hall. Construction is well under way and on time.

In the future, the current departures and arrivals halls will under go an entire transformation into gate area. Helsinki Airport will have much more space to accommodate the increasing amount of passengers and thus more possibilities to develop its services more versatile. You can read more about the Helsinki Airport Development programme here.