Rovaniemi Airport

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]}

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] the expansion work was completed in October of the same year.^[7]

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]}

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

In 2025, the airport served about 1.1 million passengers. The main season of charter traffic from the United Kingdom 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]}

More information Year, Domestic passengers ...

Annual passenger statistics for Rovaniemi Airport ^{[1][67][68][69]}

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

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