From Helsinki-Vantaa, Finnair’s new European scheduled destinations include Alta, Catania, Florence, Kos, Kuressaare, Luxembourg, Stavanger, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Turin, Valencia, and Umeå. The connection to Alta, Norway, includes a stopover at Kittilä Airport, and the flight to Umeå, Sweden, includes a stopover at Vaasa Airport, strengthening the route offerings of these airports as well.
Among long-haul destinations, Finnair resumed flights to Toronto, Canada, in May. In October, the airline will open a new historic route to Melbourne, Australia.
Inaugural flights launched from Helsinki Airport
The inaugural flights of Finnair’s new routes have been celebrated at Helsinki Airport together with passengers and partners representing Finnair, Finavia, and the destination countries.
Among the new European destinations, direct connections were ceremonially launched to, among others, Tirana, the capital of Albania, and Valencia, Spain. Tirana is a completely new destination for Finnair and is served twice weekly during the summer season through early October. Valencia further strengthens the offering of popular Spanish city destinations and is also operated twice weekly.
Photo: At Finnair’s route launch celebrations, inaugural flight passengers were offered blueberry juice and Finnish sweets. Finnair.
Photo: Celebrating the Tirana route launch on April 30, 2026, were Albanian Honorary Consul Liliana Verdha (left), Ana Xifaj, Airline Business Developer at Tirana Airport, Jenni Auvinen, Senior Marketing Manager at Finnair, Manjola Kaso, Director of Aviation Business Development and Marketing at Tirana Airport, Laura Inttilä, SVP, Director of Helsinki Airport at Finavia, and Robert Lönnblad, Finnair’s Head of Business Travel, Extended Home Markets. Finnair.
Photo: The aircraft operating the inaugural flight to Valencia at Helsinki Airport on April 11, 2026. Finnair.
A significant milestone in long-haul operations was reached on May 4, when Finnair returned to the Canadian market after an 11‑year hiatus by launching direct flights between Helsinki and Toronto. The route is operated three times a week during the summer season and strengthens Helsinki Airport’s role as a key hub for air traffic between Europe and North America.
Photo: Passengers were welcomed to join the celebratory atmosphere at the departure gate for the inaugural flight to Toronto. Finnair.
Finnair connects Finnish airports year-round
In Finland, Finnair connects Helsinki Airport with direct scheduled flights to a total of 14 airports during the summer season. From Helsinki Airport, Finnair operates scheduled services to the airports of Ivalo, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kemi‑Tornio, Kittilä, Kokkola‑Pietarsaari, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Mariehamn, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Savonlinna, and Vaasa.
During the winter season, Finnair’s domestic network in Finland is likewise extensive, with flights to Lapland airports in particular increasing significantly. Finnair is the only airline that operates flights to Lapland destinations year‑round.
Main photo: At the Toronto route inauguration on May 4, the ceremonial ribbon‑cutting was performed by Petri Vuori (third from left), SVP, Route Development at Finavia, Canadian Ambassador Patrick Hébert (center), and Robert Lönnblad (third from right), Finnair’s Head of Business Travel, Extended Home Markets. Finnair.
Read more:
Smooth connections from Finavia airports in summer 2026 – historic route openings ahead | Finavia
Route Listing: Where can you fly from Finavia airports during the summer and autumn 2026? | Finavia
