# Rovaniemi Airport

Rovaniemi Airport (Finnish: Rovaniemen lentoasema) (IATA: RVN, ICAO: EFRO) is the second busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki-Vantaa, as measured by the number of passengers and landings. It is located in Rovaniemi, Finland, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway closer to its northern end.

## 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 German Luftwaffe.

## Facilities

Rovaniemi Airport is one of three airports in Finland that has jet bridges (the other two being Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Oulu Airport). The airport is managed by Finavia. It is connected to the 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 situated within 2–3 kilometres (1.2–1.9 mi). The airport is located approximately 8–9 kilometres (5.0–5.6 mi) away from Rovaniemi City centre, meaning that it is not far away from many restaurants and hotels. The busiest time for the airport is in the Christmas season, when many people go on Santa Flights.
In addition to civil traffic the runway is also used by F-18 fighter interceptors of Lapin lennosto (Lapland Air Command). The Rovaniemen vartiolentue (Air unit of the Frontier guard of Lapland) is also located nearby.

## Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rovaniemi Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| Aer Lingus | Seasonal charter: Dublin |
| Air France | Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
| Austrian Airlines | Seasonal: Vienna |
| EasyJet | Seasonal: Amsterdam, Berlin, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bristol, Edinburgh, Geneva, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Nice, Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
| Edelweiss Air | Seasonal charter: Zurich |
| Eurowings | Seasonal: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart |
| Finnair | Helsinki Seasonal: Tromsø |
| FlyLili | Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv |
| Iberia | Seasonal: Madrid |
| Israir Airlines | Seasonal: Tel Aviv |
| Jet2.com | Seasonal Charter: London–Gatwick, Manchester |
| KLM | Seasonal: Amsterdam |
| Lufthansa | Seasonal: Frankfurt |
| Luxair | Seasonal: Luxembourg |
| Neos | Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Helsinki Seasonal: London–Gatwick, Munich |
| Ryanair | Bergamo Seasonal: Beauvais, Charleroi, Dublin, Liverpool, London–Stansted |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Seasonal: Copenhagen |
| SunExpress | Seasonal: İzmir |
| Transavia | Seasonal: Paris–Orly |
| TUI Airways | Seasonal: Birmingham, Bristol, London–Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Turkish Airlines | Seasonal: Istanbul |
| Vueling | Seasonal: Barcelona |

## 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 arrive in January because they celebrate Christmas later.
Annual passenger statistics for Rovaniemi Airport :
| 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 |