Helsinki Airport posts +4.6% passenger traffic growth in 2016

FINLAND. Helsinki Airport has posted a +4.6% year-on-year increase in traffic in 2016, reaching a passenger record of 17.2 million.

Growth was particularly strong in December, with +8.5% more travellers handled.

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Helsinki Airport had as many new passengers in 2016 as the population of Helsinki and Jyväskylä combined

The number of international passengers  increased +4.9% during the year, while domestic travel was up +3.4%. Most of the domestic growth was attributable to passengers switching to routes to Lapland from international flights, Helsinki Airport operator Finavia said.

As reported today (16 January), Helsinki Airport will tender retail and food & beverage space for its new West Wing later this year.

The number of Chinese passengers at Helsinki grew +7.5% in 2016, the biggest proportional increase. Finavia has made a significant push to improve the passenger experience for Chinese travellers, implementing mobile payment application AliPay and installing Chinese-speaking guides, among other initiatives.

Finavia has a stated strategic aim of strengthening Helsinki’s position as a transit airport between Europe and Asia. Travel from Asia to Finland was up +4.7% in 2016.

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Chinese-speaking guides helped improve the passenger experience in 2016 for one of Helsinki’s most important market segments

Passenger traffic across Finavia’s 22 airports was up +3.5% to 20.8 million in 2016, a new record. Of all passengers, 26% took domestic flights and 74% international flights.

The most popular European destinations from Finland were Stockholm, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Berlin, Oslo and Riga, Finavia said.

The top ten long distance destinations were Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, New York, Shanghai, Osaka, Beijing, Singapore and Nagoya.

“The demand for air traffic is still growing strong, and we are powerfully involved in this growth, which can be seen in the record-breaking passenger volumes,” said Finavia Senior Vice President Joni Sundelin.

“To us, an important step in strengthening our position was the landing of Qatar Airways in Finland in autumn. The magic of Lapland is also reflected in these figures and, what is more, Chinese passengers are more often selecting Finland as their destination.”

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