Terminal reshuffle at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

No more separate international and domestic terminals

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The division into domestic and international terminals at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is coming to an end. As of Wednesday, the arrival and departure facilities will, for the most part, be grouped by airline alliance, and not by flight destination.
      For instance, the Finnish national carrier Finnair will concentrate its flights on Terminal 2, the old international terminal, using check-in desks 201-232. However, check-in for the airline’s long-haul flights between noon and 7:00 PM will be from desks 400-423 in the same terminals.
     
With international and domestic flights leaving from gates in the same areas, flight transfers will involve considerably less walking.
      A passenger arriving on a domestic flight and connecting to an Asian service used to face a walk of up to a kilometre, notes Taneli Hassinen of Finnair. From Wednesday, connecting flights will be much closer.
     
The same departure area will be shared by Finnair, Finncomm, and other airlines of the OneWorld Alliance. Connecting flights are often with carriers of the same alliance, which means that walking distances will generally be shorter.
      In addition to benefiting the passengers, Hassinen notes that Finnair will also be able to concentrate its fleet and its activities on the same area.
     
SAS, Blue1, and other airlines of the Star Alliance will focus on Terminal 1 - the old domestic terminal.
      Airlines that are not part of OneWorld or Star Alliance will mainly have their check-in at desks 400-423 in Terminal 2.
      As a result of the changes, about 15 airlines are changing terminals.
     
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport director Jukka-Pekka Pystynen sees an additional benefit in the reduction of walking from one terminal to another: he says that it will mean that there will be more space when the number of passengers rises again after the recession is over.
      Finavia, the state-owned enterprise which operates Finland’s airports, recommends that departing passengers using Helsinki-Vantaa Airport should arrive as early as possible for their flights throughout the autumn. He also urges passengers to check the right departure terminal on the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s website. The terminal is also indicated in the flight ticket.
     
New check-in desks and security inspection facilities have been built at the airport.
      Changes are continuing, and in late August, long-haul passengers will have more ample waiting facilities, in addition to new shops and restaurants.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Third terminal planned for Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (27.11.2006)
  Helsinki-Vantaa performs well in airport service quality survey (26.2.2008)

Links:
  Finavia - Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Helsingin Sanomat