Lapland drives Finland’s air travel growth, but recovery lags behind Nordic neighbours

Finland’s airports handled 19.6 million passengers in 2024, a 7% increase, but air travel remains 25% below 2019 levels due to the impact of Russian airspace closures on Asian transfer traffic.

Lapland airports saw record growth, with 1.8 million passengers (+19%), fuelled by increased direct international routes. Rovaniemi Airport led with 948,000 passengers (+29%), nearing the 1-million mark.

Helsinki Airport handled 16.3 million passengers (+6.5%), benefiting from airline route expansions. However, Finland’s recovery trails Norway and Sweden, where passenger numbers have rebounded to 95% and 81% of 2019 levels, respectively.

Leisure travel surged, particularly to Mediterranean destinations, while business travel declined. Germany, Sweden, Spain, and the UK remained Finland’s top air travel markets.