Rovaniemi Airport
Rovaniemi Airport is an international airport in Rovaniemi, Finland, about north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway close to its northern end. It is the second busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki-Vantaa, as measured by the numbers of passengers and landings.
History
The airport was built in 1940 with two grass-surfaced runways. During the Continuation War, it served as an airbase and supply center for the German Luftwaffe.Facilities
Rovaniemi Airport is one of three airports in Finland that have jet bridges. The airport is managed by Finavia. It is connected to Rovaniemi city centre by an airport taxi, and there are also multiple bus connections around Lapland, including to major winter sports centers.Rovaniemi Airport is the second-busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki airport. Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are within. The airport is about away from Rovaniemi city centre, so that many restaurants and hotels are nearby. The busiest time for the airport is in the Christmas season, when many people go on Santa Flights. In April 2025, Finavia announced plans to expand the airport by approximately €3 million because of the constantly growing tourism to Lapland; the expansion work was completed in October of the same year.
In addition to civil traffic, the runway is also used by F-18 fighter interceptors of Lapin lennosto. The Rovaniemen vartiolentue is also located nearby.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rovaniemi Airport:Statistics
In 2017, the airport served about 580,000 passengers. The main season of charter traffic from Great Britain and many other European countries lasts from the end of November until the middle of January annually. Russians used to arrive in January because they celebrate Christmas later.| Year | Domestic passengers | %change | International passengers | % change | Total passengers | % change |
| 1998 | 286,548 | 0 | 41,104 | 0 | 327,652 | 0 |
| 1999 | 294,110 | 2.6 | 52,316 | 27.3 | 346,426 | 5.7 |
| 2000 | 288,343 | -2.0 | 55,790 | 6.6 | 344,133 | -0.7 |
| 2001 | 280,407 | -2.8 | 71,637 | 28.4 | 352,044 | 2.3 |
| 2002 | 257,043 | -8.3 | 83,061 | 15.9 | 340,104 | -3.4 |
| 2003 | 277,859 | 8.1 | 87,039 | 4.8 | 364,898 | 7.3 |
| 2004 | 289,145 | 4.1 | 105,405 | 21.1 | 394,550 | 8.1 |
| 2005 | 295,205 | 2.1 | 89,317 | -15.3 | 384,522 | -2.5 |
| 2006 | 330,910 | 12.1 | 101,372 | 13.5 | 432,282 | 12.4 |
| 2007 | 348,275 | 5.2 | 101,661 | 0.3 | 449,936 | 4.1 |
| 2008 | 308,870 | -11.3 | 91,697 | -9.8 | 400,567 | -11.0 |
| 2009 | 245,963 | -20.4 | 63,642 | -30.6 | 309,605 | -22.7 |
| 2010 | 246,464 | 0.2 | 63,244 | -0.6 | 309,708 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 329,990 | 33.9 | 66,835 | 5.7 | 396,825 | 28.1 |
| 2012 | 345,763 | 4.8 | 58,129 | -13.0 | 403,892 | 1.8 |
| 2013 | 363,670 | 5.2 | 63,697 | 9.6 | 427,367 | 5.8 |
| 2014 | 376,183 | 3.4 | 68,378 | 7.3 | 444,561 | 4.0 |
| 2015 | 404,712 | 7.6 | 73,635 | 7.7 | 478,347 | 7.6 |
| 2016 | 397,799 | -1.7 | 90,058 | 22.3 | 487,857 | 2.0 |
| 2017 | 455,589 | 14.5 | 123,881 | 37.6 | 579,470 | 18.8 |
| 2018 | 512,033 | 12.4 | 132,111 | 6.6 | 644,144 | 11.2 |
| 2019 | 540,467 | 5.6 | 120,657 | -8.7 | 661,124 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 219,259 | -59.4 | 48,863 | -59.5 | 268,122 | -59.4 |
| 2021 | 198,119 | -9.6 | 56,771 | 16.2 | 254,890 | -4.9 |
| 2022 | 401,694 | 102.8 | 159,040 | 180.1 | 560,734 | 120.0 |
| 2023 | 454,775 | 13.2 | 280,303 | 76.2 | 735,078 | 31.1 |
| 2024 | 527,773 | 16.0 | 420,418 | 50.0 | 948,151 | 29.0 |
| 2025 | 516,184 | -2.2 | 603,838 | 44.3 | 1,120,022 | 18.4 |