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 numbers of passengers and landings.^[3] It is located in Rovaniemi, Finland, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway close to its northern end.

Rovaniemi Airport Rovaniemen lentoasema
IATA: RVN ICAO: EFRO
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Operator	Finavia
Serves	Rovaniemi, Finland
Elevation AMSL	642 ft / 196 m
Coordinates	66°33′42″N 025°49′51″E
Website	finavia.fi
Map
RVN Location within Finland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 3,002 9,849 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers 948,151 [1] Passenger change 23-24 +29.0% Aircraft movements 7,712
Source: AIP Finland[2]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Facilities

Rovaniemi Airport is one of three airports in Finland that have jet bridges (the other two are Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Oulu Airport). 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.^{[citation needed]}

Rovaniemi Airport is the second-busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki airport.^[4] Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are within 2–3 kilometres (1.2–1.9 mi). The airport is about 8–9 kilometres (5.0–5.6 mi) 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.^[5] In April 2025, Finavia announced plans to expand the airport by approximately €3 million because of the constantly growing tourism to Lapland.^[6]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rovaniemi Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus	Seasonal charter: Dublin[citation needed]
Air France	Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle[7]
Austrian Airlines	Seasonal: Vienna[8]
easyJet[9][10]	Seasonal: Amsterdam,[11] Belfast–International (begins 2 December 2025),[12] Berlin,[13] Birmingham,[14] Bordeaux,[15] Bristol,[16] Edinburgh,[17] Geneva,[18] London–Gatwick, London–Luton,[19] London–Southend (begins 1 December 2025),[20] Lyon,[21] Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Nice,[22] Paris–Charles de Gaulle[23]
Edelweiss Air	Seasonal: Zurich[24]
Eurowings	Seasonal: Berlin,[25][26] Düsseldorf,[25] Hamburg,[27][28] Stuttgart[29][30]
Finnair	Helsinki,[31] Tromsø (begins 26 October 2025)[32]
FlyLili	Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv[33]
Iberia	Seasonal: Madrid[34]
Israir Airlines	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[35]
Jet2.com	Seasonal Charter: London–Gatwick, Manchester
KLM	Seasonal: Amsterdam[36]
LOT Polish Airlines	Seasonal: Warsaw–Chopin (begins 27 November 2025)[37]
Lufthansa	Seasonal: Frankfurt[38][39]
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg[40]
Neos	Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa,[41] Rome–Fiumicino[42]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Helsinki[43] Seasonal: Barcelona (begins 3 December 2025),[44] London–Gatwick,[45] Munich[46]
Ryanair[47]	Bergamo[48] Seasonal: Beauvais,[49] Birmingham (begins 27 October 2025),[50] Bristol (begins 1 November 2025),[51] Charleroi,[52] Dublin,[53] Liverpool,[54] London–Stansted,[55] Manchester (begins 2 November 2025),[56] Shannon (begins 27 October 2025)[57]
Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen[58]
SunExpress	Seasonal: İzmir[59]
Transavia	Seasonal: Paris–Orly[60]
TUI Airways	Seasonal: Birmingham, Bristol, London–Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne[61]
Turkish Airlines	Seasonal: Istanbul[62]
Vueling	Seasonal: Barcelona[63]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Annual passenger statistics for Rovaniemi Airport ^[1][64][65]

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

See also

• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries