"Over the years, Finavia has made significant investments in the development of Lapland’s airports. The expansion of the departures hall at Rovaniemi Airport, which started in April 2025, has now been completed – fully on schedule and within the original budget. The completed expansion will improve the customer experience of departing passengers in particular, and with the introduction of the new facilities, I would like to warmly welcome all passengers to Rovaniemi Airport," says Henri Hansson, Finavia’s Senior Vice President, Airport Network.
The investment decision was driven by the development of passenger volumes at Rovaniemi Airport, which has been very strong in recent years. In 2024, Rovaniemi Airport had 948,000 passengers, which is almost 30 per cent more than in the previous year. In recent years, Rovaniemi Airport has become a significant international airport and improved the accessibility of the Lapland region.
"Tourism demand in the Lapland region has grown strongly in recent years, and we want to support the high level of customer experience for tourists through our own operations. We are developing our airport network as a whole, and we believe that the growth of Rovaniemi’s air traffic has the potential to be reflected throughout the Lapland region," says Hansson.
The new expansion will increase the size of the airport’s departures hall by nearly one thousand square metres and is designed to improve the passenger experience. The expansion with its large windows brings in more natural light, making the departures hall significantly brighter and more open.
In addition to the expansion of the departures hall, the ground traffic areas in front of the airport will be renewed and reorganised. This winter season, different modes of transport, such as taxis, buses and private cars, will be clearly located in their own areas in front of the airport. The changes to the ground traffic arrangements will be implemented in full during 2025 and 2026, and their purpose is to streamline traffic in the area and clarify traffic arrangements.
The development of airports is driven by comprehensive consideration of sustainability
According to surveys, the customer satisfaction of passengers at Rovaniemi Airport has been consistently high, as the airport has undergone long-term development from the perspective of both infrastructure and services and the airport processes and operating methods. In addition, there has been close cooperation between the companies operating at the airport and with the tourism operators in the area for decades. Each year, Finavia selects an airport from its 20 airports that will receive the Airport of the Year award. The Airport of the Year 2024 award was given to Rovaniemi Airport.
Finavia has implemented its climate programme for years with good results. Sustainable development and responsibility were also taken into account in the expansion of the departures hall in 2025. In the planning phase of the expansion, an energy simulation was carried out in accordance with the building permit, which optimised the building’s energy efficiency and reduced its life cycle carbon footprint. This proactive approach made sustainable planning solutions possible in the early stages of the project. The development of airports is strongly data-based, and the assessment of environmental impacts is also based on research data.
Finavia’s investments in Rovaniemi and Lapland airports
Finavia has invested a total of more than EUR 100 million in the development of Lapland’s airports over the past ten years. During the Lapland development programme in 2018–2020, EUR 25 million was invested in Rovaniemi Airport, which has been used to expand the terminal, add services and develop facilities for the airport’s processes.
In addition to development investments, Finavia has implemented normal life cycle management of the airport infrastructure, including the maintenance of runways and equipment purchases. In addition to the expansion of the departures hall, Finavia invested approximately EUR 1.3 million in the ground traffic arrangements in front of the airport in 2025. The development of ground traffic will continue in 2026 as well. A total of approximately EUR 1.2 million was invested in areas used by air traffic, such as the runway lighting system and the remote de-icing station, in 2025. These projects increase the total investments in 2025 to approximately EUR 5.5 million.
Finavia has done a lot of development work to promote the environmental responsibility of airports. At Rovaniemi Airport, sustainable solutions have been taken into account in the heating and lighting of terminal buildings and the fuels used at the airport, for example. As a result of this work, Rovaniemi and Finavia's other Lapland airports reached net zero carbon emissions in 2024 and they also hold Visit Finland's sustainable travel certificate.
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More information on Rovaniemi Airport
Basic facts about Rovaniemi Airport
- The number of passengers in 2024 reached a record 948,000 (+29%). Passengers on international flights 44%, passengers on domestic flights 56%.
- The runway is 3,000 metres long and crosses the Arctic Circle.
- In 2024, Airports Council International (ACI) ranked Rovaniemi Airport among the top three airports in Europe in its size category of less than five million passengers.
- In 2019, the Finnish Lapland Tourist Board gave Finavia the award for the best travel achievement of the year in Lapland for improving the accessibility of Lapland.
Investments in Rovaniemi Airport in 2018–2020
- EUR 25 million
- 5,000 m2 more terminal space (+75%)
- 10 more passport control points (+50%)
- 3 new departure gates: 1 bridge gate and 2 bus gates (+150%)
- 6 new check-in lines (+75%)
- luggage centre extension
- updated shopping and restaurant services
History of Rovaniemi Airport
- The construction project of the airport began in 1939.
- The airport was opened in 1940, when Aero Oy began to operate a regular service from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
- Regular scheduled flights resumed after the war in 1948.
- The first Christmas charter flight arrived from London to Rovaniemi on 25 December 1984.
- The 80th anniversary of Rovaniemi Airport was celebrated in 2020.
