Finavia expects 5–10% more passengers at Lapland airports this winter

Finavia, the operator of Finland's state airport network, said on 14 October 2026 that its Lapland airports are ready for the winter season, with passenger numbers expected to grow by 5–10% and airline operations by 4–8%.

To handle the peak, Finavia opened 120 seasonal positions in June at Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo and Kuusamo airports, 20% more than last year. Applications rose by nearly 60% compared with 2025, to 460 in total, and Finavia's staff at these airports will more than double for the winter.

The company has also upgraded facilities. At Rovaniemi, a ground traffic project completed in September added a parking area of about 4,000 square metres for 130 cars. Self-service check-in machines were renewed at Rovaniemi and Kittilä, and new bag drop machines were installed at Ivalo.

Rovaniemi and Kittilä moved to slot coordination in the 2025–2026 winter season, with an external party allocating arrival and departure times to match airport capacity. Finavia says this has worked well and spreads traffic more evenly through the day. Punctuality at its Lapland airports has typically been 98–100% in 2023–2026, and Rovaniemi set a new passenger record last winter.

Henri Hansson, Senior Vice President for the airport network, said Finavia expects Lapland tourism to keep growing. The growth figures are forecasts, so actual traffic and punctuality over the coming months remain to be seen.