Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats
IATA: HEL – ICAO: EFHK
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Finavia
Serves		Helsinki
Location		Vantaa
Hub for		Air Finland Blue1 Finnair Finncomm Airlines
Elevation AMSL		55 m / 179 ft
Coordinates		60°19′02″N 024°57′48″E / 60.31722°N 24.96333°E / 60.31722; 24.96333Coordinates: 60°19′02″N 024°57′48″E / 60.31722°N 24.96333°E / 60.31722; 24.96333
Website		www.helsinki-vantaa.fi
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
04R/22L	3,440	11,286	Asphalt
04L/22R	3,060	10,039	Asphalt
15/33	2,901	9,518	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers			13,426,901[1]
Landings			91,952[1]
Source: AIP Finland[2]

One of Helsinki-Vantaa's runways

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (IATA: HEL, ICAO: EFHK) (Finnish: Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema, Swedish: Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats) in Vantaa, Finland, is the main international airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region and the whole of Finland. It is located about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the centre of Vantaa, Tikkurila, and 9.2 NM (17.0 km; 10.6 mi) north^[2] of Helsinki's city centre. Originally built for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the airport served 13,426,901 passengers in 2008 (2.2% growth since 2007)^[1] and it is the fourth largest airport in the Nordic countries.

The airport is operated by Finavia, the state-owned enterprise that operates Finland's airports. Helsinki-Vantaa was chosen the best airport in the world in the IATA 1999 survey on the topic. In 2006 global airport customer satisfaction survey AETRA ranked Helsinki-Vantaa one of the best airports worldwide and according to Association of European Airlines 2005 delay rates, Helsinki-Vantaa was the most punctual airport in Europe.

The airport's three runways provide a platform for future growth while the airport can accommodate extra-wide aircraft such as the Airbus A340 and Airbus A350, the former already in service and the latter being scheduled to enter service at Helsinki-Vantaa with Finnair in the coming decade. The airport is the international and domestic hub for Finnair, the Finnish flag carrier. It is also the hub for Blue1, the Finnish regional division of SAS. Air Finland and Finncomm Airlines are based at Helsinki-Vantaa as well.

The Aviapolis is a new international business park adjacent to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport area, already hosting the operations of numerous companies around the airport. Several hotels are located near the airport as well. Construction of a train link, Kehärata, to the center of Helsinki began in the spring of 2009.^[3] The Finnish Aviation Museum is located near the airport.^[4]

On November 25, 2008, Finavia opened a wireless network free of charge at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.^[5]

[edit] Terminals

Terminal 2

Lounge area at terminal 1.

The airport was nominally divided into an international and a domestic terminal, located 250 metres (820 ft) apart and linked by an internal pedestrian connection both airside and landside. In practice, however, the airside parts of the terminal buildings are not divided into domestic and international but to Schengen and non-Schengen areas. The non-Schengen area of terminal 2 (the former international terminal) is under enlargement and will be ready in by the end of 2009, enabling the airport to receive eight wide-body aircraft at the same time, compared to the current five wide-body gates (of which only two are suitable for Finnair's new Airbus A340).

[edit] Ground transportation

The Helsinki-Vantaa airport is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the center of the City of Helsinki. Bus service by the public transit line 615 to center takes approximately 30–45 minutes, depending on the time of day. When taking the line 615 from Helsinki, passengers are only allowed to disembark once they have passed the municipality border to Vantaa. The line 615 is the only bus line in the Finnish capital region that cannot be used for transport within the same city.

The quickest bus to the center is the direct Finnair bus, costing a little extra. The bus route 61 to Tikkurila train station provides access to commuter trains as well as to long-distance trains in the directions of Tampere and Lahti, including lines to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The construction of the Kehärata rail link to the airport was started in May 2009, with an opening scheduled for 2013.^[6]

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Helsinki airport during winter

Finnair Embraer 190 aircraft at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

[edit] Terminal 1

[edit] Terminal 2

[edit] Cargo airlines

[edit] Handling agents

The following handling agents provide full ground handling services for airlines: [1]

• Airpro
• Inter Handling
• ISS Aviation
• Northport
• Servisair
• Touch N´Go

[edit] See also

Finland portal

• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

• Helsinki-Vantaa airport – Airport homepage in English
• AIP Finland – Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
• Current weather for EFHK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for HEL at Aviation Safety Network

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