Airlines & Airports

With 22 airports operating throughout the country with scheduled passenger service on commercial airlines, flying is a convenient, albeit sometimes expensive, way of getting around Finland. There are six airlines with flights within Finland, most of which fly from Helsinki to the many regional airports. Booking in advance where possible is advised, as an advance-purchase non-changeable one-way ticket can cost less than a train ticket. If you have arrived on a Finnair flight it may be possible to get discounted tickets.

Finnair are the national carrier and by far the biggest airline, with services to all the largest cities in Finland, and to destinations worldwide. Flybe recently entered the Finnish market when it jointly acquired Finncomm, and has announced that it will offer flights from Helsinki and 4 other key cities in Finland. Blue1 is a division of SAS, the Swedish national airline, and operates a budget service competing with Finnair on the busiest routes, serving nine airports in Finland, and many others throughout Europe. Another new carrier to enter the Finnish market is Norwegian Air Shuttle, better known as Norwegian.com, which now connects Helsinki to Oulu and Rovaniemi, and a host of other European destinations. Although Air Baltic is the national carrier of Latvia, the airline connects Helsinki with eight other cities in Finland. It also has some direct flights between provincial cities, most noticeably between Turku and Oulu for very competitive prices, cheaper even than the train. Air Åland offers flights from continental Finland to Mariehamn in the autonomic province of Åland.