Petri Vuori, VP of sales and route development at Finavia, speaks to Routes.

What are the major recent successes at your organization?

Summer 2022 was good in terms of growing passenger numbers at Finnish airports. The growth was driven especially by increase in the leisure traffic. We also saw increase in the connections to North America and India from Helsinki Airport (HEL) and were pleased with the small increase in the Chinese market as well. We are looking forward to the coming winter especially in our northern airports, as the winter season in Lapland is expected to be very strong.

What are your main strategic ambitions in the short-, medium- and long-term?

The effects of the Russian airspace closure are bigger for us than for many other European airports. This is why we also need to think about how to compensate for the reduced connectivity. In the short-term, we can see travel in Europe revert the fastest. In the long-term, we are expecting more long-haul connections to reopen and are looking at the opportunities there.

What is your main goal in attending Routes World 2022?

We are looking forward to meeting the airline delegations and colleagues, showcasing Finland as a destination and getting more understanding of the current state of the business.