Finavia Starts the Renovation of the Departure Lounge and Arrivals Hall of Terminal 2 at Helsinki Airport One Year in Advance – the Renovation Work Will Affect the Check-in Area, among Other Things
The first phase of the extensive renovation work will start from the departure lounge of Helsinki Airport’s Terminal 2. Part of the lounge and its facilities will be closed on 18 January 2021.
The renovation work, covering approximately 35,000 square metres, is part of the Helsinki Airport development programme and the extension of Terminal 2. The renovation will completely revamp the existing departure lounge and arrivals hall as well as integrate them into the gate area and centralised baggage claim hall.
Project Manager of the Terminal 2 extension project from Finavia, Tuomo Lindstedt, said:We are able to start the renovation work one year in advance, as the number of passengers and flights has decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this way, passengers will also be able to enjoy the new facilities earlier than planned.
In addition to the renovation work, the terminal is currently being expanded by 42,000 square metres. In the new terminal area, there will be an impressive main entrance to be opened in 2022 as well as a new departure lounge and arrivals hall.
Jani Ceder, Finavia’s Head of the operations centre at Helsinki Airport, says that, due to the renovation starting in the departure lounge, the check-ins of Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and KLM, among others, will be moved to the airport’s main lobby next door. In this way, all check-in and security control service points for Helsinki Airport’s flights will be located in one place from 18 January. Due to decreased traffic volumes, Terminal 1 flights have already been relocated to the same check-in area.
Despite the fact that the number of passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic has only been about one-tenth of the normal volumes, passengers may see some changes due to the renovations, such as smaller queuing spaces. In addition to centralising the check-in points, the need to remember to maintain adequate safe distances at the terminal also affects the use of space. This means that the queues for check-in points and security control may be longer, especially during the busiest hours, even if the waiting time is not extended much.
Finavia’s Head of the operations centre at Helsinki Airport, Jani Ceder, said:Fortunately, the slightly more limited queuing spaces are only temporary, as we will open more passenger space in June. The floor renovation will then be completed, and the closed facilities will be partially reopened as a connecting bridge.
Finavia strives to take advantage of the low traffic and passenger volumes of the COVID-19 pandemic, further the renovation work and bring forward the completion of the renovation. Plans for both the construction work on the new section and the renovation work on the old part of the terminal may change according to the situation. Below are a few important milestones, but their completion schedules are subject to change.
- Changes to the public transport arrangements for the construction of the new section are planned for the beginning of the year. Finavia will inform about them as soon as possible.
- The renovation of the departure lounge will continue in stages until summer 2023.
- Modifications to the existing arrivals halls and baggage claim halls are scheduled to begin no later than summer 2021.
- The opening of the new section is currently scheduled for the turn of the year 2021–2022, before which the new facilities will be tested, among other things.
- With these prospects, the renovation of the existing departure lounges and arrivals halls would be completed in 2023, when they will be integrated into the gate area. At the same time, the entire ten-year development programme of the Helsinki Airport will be completed.
Finavia’s investment programme in brief:
- Terminal floor area increased by 45% (103,000 m2). The total area of the terminal in 2024 will be more than 250,000 m2.
- More bridge gates to wide-body aircrafts: 100% increase
- More luggage handling capacity: 50% increase
- More passport control capacity: 50% increase
- Renovated apron area (aircraft parking areas and taxiways) amounts to 450,000 m2, corresponding to an area of around 90 football fields.
- A new multimodal travel centre, linking different modes of transport.
- More parking spaces: 4,800 parking spaces (Extension to Car park P5 and a new parking garage)
- Finavia’s investment: approximately EUR 1 billion
This article was originally published by Finavia.
