Finnair to resume Turku, Tampere flights on 27 March

National flag carrier Finnair will resume flights to Turku and Tampere on 27 March, 2022 where flight connections remained suspended since spring 2020 against the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak.

Finnair will complement the flight connections to Turku and Tampere with a new type of bus connection, to reduce the CO2 footprint of these routes, said Finnair in a press release on Thursday.

“Turku and Tampere are an important part of our network. Traveling on these routes focuses on international exchange travel, and we want to continue to offer the best range of connections to customers in the regions,” said Perttu Jolma, Vice-President, Traffic Planning at Finnair in the press release.

The scheduled time for flights to Turku and Tampere is 35 minutes, but the actual flight time is even shorter, about 25 minutes. Such short flights are usually operated only in areas where the terrain is difficult and the flights cross sea areas or mountains, for example. Intermodality is a growing trend, and there is already a wider debate in Europe on how to limit the number of short-haul flights.

“We are resuming flights to Turku and Tampere as of 27 March 2022 and complementing these routes with a bus connection,” Mari Kanerva from the Finnair communications desk told Daily Finland, adding that the early morning and late evening flights will remain and the afternoon flights will be operated with a bus connection.

These routes will be operated with this concept as of next summer.

According to a study based on Finnair's customer data, the majority of those departing from Turku or Tampere already used a non-flight connection to arrive at Helsinki Airport in 2019, when the flights were operated with several daily frequencies.

A smooth bus connection offers an opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions also for customers who would otherwise travel to Helsinki Airport by car.