Finnair to fly direct from London to Lapland
Finnair has announced that it will start flying non-stop from the UK to Finnish Lapland. The new direct service will link London Gatwick and Ivalo twice a week from mid-December 2017 until the end of March 2018.
The ski and holiday resorts in and around Ivalo are attracting an increasing number of international travellers and the area is well-known for its beautiful nature, winter activities and opportunities to experience Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.
Finnair will fly twice a week between London Gatwick and Ivalo on Thursdays and Sundays, with the flights operated by Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
Juha Järvinen, the airline’s chief commercial officer, said: “There is increased interest towards Finland and especially Lapland as tourist destinations, and we are excited to be able to offer flights direct from London to Lapland.
“In addition to multiple alternatives via Helsinki, these new non-stop flights will offer great additional opportunities for UK holidaymakers visiting Lapland. Finnair is the only airline serving all Lapland airports and this gives our customers the flexibility to travel around Lapland and experience the beautiful variety in the region.”
Expansion programme
The latest announcement is part of the carrier’s wider expansion of new non-stop routes between key European cities and Finnish Lapland. Other new services for winter 2017 include weekly flights between Zurich and Kittilä on Saturdays, Frankfurt and Kittilä on Tuesdays and Paris CDG and Kittilä, also on Tuesdays.
Additional capacity and flights to Lapland from Helsinki airport will also be added for the 2017-2018 winter season, offering even more connections for Finnair customers. The carrier will add three weekly flights to Rovaniemi, bringing it to 30 weekly frequencies. Additional frequencies will also be added to Ivalo (four weekly), Kittilä (four weekly) and Kuusamo (one weekly).
In total, Finnair will operate up to 52 weekly frequencies from Helsinki to Lapland airports during the peak winter season. With these additions, the airline will be increasing its total capacity to Lapland airports by 18% compared to the current winter season.
