Turku Airport

Turku Airport (IATA: TKU, ICAO: EFTU), is located in Turku, Finland, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of the centre,[2] in Lentokenttä (Finnish for airfield; Swedish: Flygfältet) district in the Maaria-Paattinen ward of Turku. It serves approximately 450,000 passengers per year, being the fourth busiest airport in Finland by the number of passengers (in 2019) and second busiest airport by the amount of cargo tonnes (in 2012).[3] Turku Airport is exclusively operated by the state-owned company Finavia. Among normal operation the airport offers differentiated service specifically designed for low-cost airlines since 2008.

Turku Airport

Turun lentoasema
Åbo flygplats
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorFinavia
ServesTurku, Finland
Elevation AMSL49 m / 161 ft
Coordinates60°30′53″N 022°15′42″E
Websitefinavia.fi
Map
TKU
Location within Finland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers452,927
Landings4,379
Freight (tons)3,692
Source: AIP Finland[1]

Turku Airport and its surroundings are marketed as LogiCity[4] in hopes to attract logistic companies and manufacturers near the airport.

History

Early years

Turku Airport was Finland's first civilian airport when it was built in Artukainen in 1935, but already in the 1920s there was a water airport on Ruissalo Island. Artukainen served as a main airport of Turku until the new airport was built in the municipality of Rusko in 1955. The location become part of Turku in 1957. A new terminal building was opened in 1978. The runway was upgraded to 2500 m in 1980. An air cargo terminal was opened in 1991 as well as an air cargo plate. Terminal 1 was renovated and enlarged in 1999. In the 1990s, Lufthansa CityLine operated flights to Hamburg and ELK Airways to Tallinn.

Development during the 2000s

A second cargo terminal was opened in 2003 and a second passenger terminal for low-cost airlines in 2008. Wizz Air launched flights to Turku in April 2008 and AirBaltic in July 2009. Wingo xprs operated flights to Stockholm-Bromma in spring 2009 and Jet Air to Gdańsk in 2009–2010.

Development since the 2010s

Norwegian Air Shuttle flew to Stockholm-Arlanda and Flybe Nordic to Tallinn during the winter season 2011–2012. Ryanair operated flights to Brussels-Charleroi, London-Stansted, Málaga and Barcelona-Girona only during the summer season 2012. According to Ryanair the period was very successful but they could not tolerate the raised airport costs of Finavia and promised to return all routes as soon as the price raise would be withdrawn. During the Ryanair's stay there was a 27% growth on passenger statistics.[5] Turku Airport was closed partially in July 2014 for the renovation of the runway and taxiways. Terminal 1 and the passenger apron were also renovated; Finavia budgeted 14 million euros for the renovations and improvements.[6] However, Scandinavian Airlines flights to Copenhagen, one of the most important destinations operated since 2006, were discontinued after the renovations. This had an immediate impact in passenger volumes.[7]

Terminal 2 was closed and its passenger services migrated to the main terminal due to an oil leakage clean up of a spare power unit in autumn 2014. In June 2015 Finavia announced that the low-cost terminal would be completely demolished and the low-cost concept would be continued in the first floor of main terminal in new premises.[8]

Logicity

Logicity started as a project of Pilot Turku Ltd (founded in 2003) but is now operated by Turku Municipal Property Corporation after the contract with Pilot Turku Ltd ended in 2010.[9] Logicity will be a logistic hub built around Turku Airport. Logicity is supposed to link the different modes of transportation together. The location is considered ideal due to facts that Turku Airport is just 20 minutes from the sea ports of Turku and Naantali, whose combined values are comparable to the Port of Vuosaari in Helsinki. Both E18 highway to St. Petersburg and E63 to Tampere go via Turku Airport, and also rail transport connection to Russia and China passes by the Logicity area. Pilot Turku describes the Turku Region as "the meeting point of the East, the West and the Nordic countries" and as "the multimodal transport centre of the Nordic Triangle".[10]

Logicity is estimated to create at least 3,000 to 5,000 new jobs. The length of the runway at Turku airport has an option to be upgraded to reach 3,300 m (10,827 ft) to meet new demands.[11] There are several plans set for the nearby area: new roads, commercial centres, retail parks, industrial estates, logistic terminals and offices. In fact there is already a big commercial area along with the E18 ring road just few kilometers from the airport. Logicity is planned in two phases: Phase One allows to build 400,000 m2 (4,305,564 sq ft) of floorspace and Phase Two will increase it to 1,000,000 m2 (11,000,000 sq ft).[12] The project is regionally important and many towns near the airport (including Turku) are involved in the project as shareholders of Pilot Turku Ltd e.g. Kaarina, Lieto and Naantali.

Currently in 2015, there are three zoning plans pending in the Logicity area: the northern side of the runway, the railway sites on the east and the industrial zones near the railway.[13]

Airlines and destinations

airBaltic
TNT

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
airBaltic Riga
Air Leap Mariehamn
Finnair Helsinki, Mariehamn
Seasonal: Kittilä
Scandinavian Airlines Stockholm–Arlanda
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Gran Canaria, Tenerife–South[14]
Wizz Air Belgrade (begins 17 July 2020),[15] Gdańsk, Kaunas,[16] Kraków, Larnaca (begins 12 July 2020),[17] Skopje,[18] Warsaw–Chopin [19]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
ASL Airlines Belgium Gothenburg, Liège, Tallinn, Riga

ASL Airlines Belgium operates daily cargo flights, however many other less frequently sighted air cargo companies also visit Turku, such as Ruby Star.[20]

Statistics

Passengers

Annual passenger statistics for Turku Airport [21]
YearDomestic passengersInternational passengersTotal passengersChange
2006 127,582212,338339,920+3.6%
2007 130,666178,116308,782−9.2%
2008 102,003216,094318,097+3.0%
2009 90,746187,275278,021−12.6%
2010 104,533252,726357,259+28.5%
2011 116,631260,902377,533+5.7%
2012 109,995344,953454,948+20.5%
2013 96,388228,279324,667-28.6%
2014 93,107204,751297,858-8.3%
2015 102,095210,010312,105+4.9%
2016 97,680226,397324,077+3.8%
2017[22] 106,022227,582333,604+2.9%
2018 105,746263,686369,432+10.7%
2019 106,825346,102452,927+22.6%

* During 2014 the airport was operating only 11 months due to renovation of the runway

5 busiest routes by passengers handled:[23]
Rank Airport
(2012)
Passengers
(2012)
Airport
(2017)
Passengers
(2017)
Airport
(2018)
Passengers
(2018)
Airport
(2019)
Passengers
(2019)
1. Helsinki
87,362
Helsinki
104,486
Gdańsk
117,159
Gdańsk
117,261
2. Stockholm–Arlanda
66,761
Gdańsk
92,784
Helsinki
102,356
Helsinki
100,086
3. Gdańsk
61,122
Stockholm–Arlanda
83,141
Stockholm–Arlanda
85,679
Stockholm–Arlanda
86,331
4. Copenhagen
53,567
Riga
30,824
Riga
35,132
Riga
45,536
5. Riga
32,828
Mariehamn
19,477
Mariehamn
24,446
Krakow
26,592

Freight and mail

Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo at Turku Airport's Cargo APN
Loaded/Unloaded freight and mail (tons) Turku Airport [24]
YearDomestic freightDomestic mailInternational freightInternational mailTotal freight and mailChange
2006 1322602,88333,278+9.8%
2007 501023,30433,459+5.5%
2008 4304,65014,695+35.7%
2009 15706,76106,919+47.4%
2010 7206,98807,061+2.1%
2011 117,85207,853+11.2%
2012 1807,99408,012+0.2%
2013 005,34205,342-33.3%
2014 103,05803,059-42.7%
2015 ----4,289+40.2%
2016 ----3,731-13.0%
2017 ----3,238-13.2%
2018 ----4,140+27.9%
2019 ----3,692-10.8%
  • Finavia hasn't published Turku Airport's cargo statistics since 2014, 2015-2019 by Eurostat[25]

See also

  • List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries

References

  1. "EFTU Turku" (PDF). AIP Suomi / Finland. Finavia. 30 June 2011. pp. EFTU AD 2.1, 1–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  2. "Turku Airport – Transport Connections". Finavia. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  3. "Finavia's Air Traffic Statistics 2010". Vantaa: Finavia. pp. 7, 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  4. "LogiCity". City of Turku. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. "Official Ryanair website - Cheap flights from Finland - Ryanair". www.ryanair.com. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. "Turun lentoasema on suljettu 30.6.-27.7. / Uutisarkisto". Finavia. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  7. http://www.ts.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/675145/Kauttakulkijoiden+maara+vaheni+tuhansilla+Turun+lentoasemalla
  8. "Terminal 2 at Turku Airport to be demolished because of the clean-up project / News archive". Finavia. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  9. "How to contact LogiCity". City of Turku. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  10. "Why the Turku region?". City of Turku. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  11. Heino, Jari (9 April 2008). "Kiitorata pidemmäksi, tieyhteys kentän pohjoispuolelle. Lentokentän seudusta puuhataan 3 000 ihmisen työpaikka-aluetta". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Turku: TS-Yhtymä Oy. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  12. "LogiCity is a logistically logical location". City of Turku. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  13. http://www.turku.fi/en/pending-zoning-plans
  14. "Flights". tjareborg.fi.
  15. https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/06/wizz-air-to-announce-belgrade-expansion.html
  16. "Turusta aukeaa uusi lentoreitti Liettuan Kaunakseen". 7 August 2018.
  17. https://www.financialmirror.com/2020/05/28/wizz-air-opens-11-new-routes-with-base-at-larnaca-airport/
  18. https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/paikalliset/4445681/Wizz+Air+aloittaa+suorat+lennot+Turusta+Makedonian+Skopjeen
  19. "MASSIVE GROWTH IN THE BIGGEST MARKET OF WIZZ AIR, WIZZ AIR EXPANDS IN KRAKOW, GDANSK AND WARSAW, 4 BASED AIRCRAFT, 13 NEW ROUTES". wizzair.com.
  20. "Turku International Airport - FlightForum.fi". www.flightforum.fi. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  21. "Traffic statistics – Passengers". Finavia. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  22. https://www.finavia.fi/sites/default/files/documents/Passengers%20by%20Airport-fi_0.pdf
  23. "Database - Eurostat". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  24. "Publications". Finavia. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  25. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

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