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Helsinki Airport in Finland: A Truly Exceptional Nordic City Airport to Fly Into
Helsinki Airport in Finland
Entertaining as it may seem, I consider airports as an extension of my travel itinerary – are you with me? There’s something about arrivals and departures, the whole mess and message that you get from the immigration, baggage counters, down to the retailers and taxi stands that make the entire airport experience a thing to be remembered. A foreword on what’s about to happen, if an airport leaves a good impression as soon as you land and walk out of the plane, of course, it feels extra good; likewise, the opposite experience makes you feel that Mr. Murphy’s law might be on your side. True story (which is why I am quite appreciative of the fact that Singapore has the BEST airport in the world!). Surprisingly, Helsinki Airport is one of those few airports in Europe that I really enjoyed visiting, so much so that I am doing an entire post about it!
Opened in 1952, the main international airport of Finland, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located in the city of Vantaa and is operated by the one who developed and maintained 21 airports and Finland's air navigation system, Finavia. It happens to be the 29th busiest airport in Europe and 4th busiest in the Nordic countries in terms of passenger numbers. Main airlines like Finnair, Jet Time, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and TUIfly Nordic made this airport as their main hub. Stats alone will make you hypothesize that this airport is as busy and as chaotic as it should, but if you happen to be arriving and flying out during the red-eye schedule, you’ll be happy to know that their airport is a sanctuary! I was really happy with how we were received by this airport, after a long-haul flight from Asia to this Nordic country.
Arriving, connecting, changing planes, check-in, or baggage drop, and departing at Helsinki Airport – overall, one of the easiest travel experiences that I have experienced so far! (I’d say, my worst one was in the United Arab Emirates, but that’s for a different story). It’s very stress-free and convenient to roam around and find your way through Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, Helsinki Airport’s two terminals. The terminal information of arrivals, transfers, and departures, as well as the airport map, are readily available for travelers, and the ground staff is more than willing to assist if you have questions. Funny story: we accidentally went out to a different Exit, which meant that we could no longer get our baggage. Us being Asians, our first instinct was to ask for help! LOL. Long story short: the ground staff lady showed immense customer service in making sure we understood what we needed to do, to the point of giving us a step by step guide on how to do it. Oh, the patience and politeness – I really commend that lady for putting up with our distressed and sleep deprived questioning.
Sharing this experience via snapshots of the airport and airplane to give you an idea what to expect should you decide to have a stopover in Helsinki. It’s not a bad idea to have a long-hours layover here, or to arrive way earlier than check-in time because their airport is actually pretty good. It may not be as lavish and as award-winning as in Singapore, but it certainly is lightyears better than most of the airports in Asia, or even in some parts of Europe. A big kudos to the Finavia team for intuitively allowing me to revel in my Helsinki airport experience! Until next visit soon maybe.
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