Editing Helsinki Airport (section)

== History ==
[[File:Helsinki Airport from air in the 1960s.jpeg|thumb|Aerial photo of the first terminal at Helsinki Airport in 1963/1964]]
[[File:Efhk terminal aerial 1969 d244.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of Helsinki Airport terminal area in 1969]]
[[File:Helsingin lentoasema (nyk. Helsinki-Vantaa lentoasema), lähtevien ulkomaanlentojen aula - N137699 - hkm.HKMS000005-km0000pf8p.jpg|thumb|right|An interior view of the terminal (later known as terminal 2) at the Helsinki Airport circa 1969. In the foreground are Finnair's chief of aviation [[Olavi Siirilä]] (left) and CEO [[Gunnar Korhonen]] (right).]]
[[File:15-12-20-Helsinki-Vantaan-Lentoasema-N3S 3120.jpg|thumb|right|The old entrance to terminal 2.]]

=== Opening and the first intercontinental service (1952–1960s) ===
The planning of a new airport for Helsinki began in the 1940s, when it became obvious that the [[Helsinki-Malmi Airport]] could not handle the increasing number of passengers or the new, heavier aircraft. A new site was found some {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}} from Helsinki city centre, in an area that today belongs to the city of Vantaa (until 1971 Vantaa was called ''Helsingin [[maalaiskunta]]''). Some of the construction work was done by prison laborers.<ref name="yle-himberg">{{Cite web|first= Petra | last= Himberg | title = Seutulan lentoasema 1952 | url = https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2009/03/03/seutulan-lentoasema-1952 | website=yle.fi | date= 3 March 2009 | access-date=29 December 2020 }}</ref> The airport opened temporarily in July 1952 for [[1952 Summer Olympics|that year's Summer Olympics]], held in Helsinki.<ref name="finavia_history" />

The first two [[Finnair#History|Aero Oy]] [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]] aircraft, OH-LCC ''Tiira'' with its captain [[Olli Puhakka]] and first officer Pertti Uuksulainen, and OH-LCD ''Lokki'', landed in Vantaa on 26 June 1952, and the first scheduled international airplane to land on the airport was the DC-6 B ''Torgil Viking'' of [[Scandinavian Airlines]] on 26 October 1952. While Aero (now Finnair) used [[Helsinki-Malmi Airport]], charter flights were directed to the new airport on 26 October 1952. The airport originally had a single runway, the second runway being built four years later in 1956, and the first airplane hangar was also built in the same year. The airport also received its first [[radar]] in the same year.<ref name="yle-himberg"/> Regular jet flight operations began in 1959.

A new passenger terminal opened in 1969, while the first transatlantic service to [[New York City|New York]] was inaugurated on 15 May 1969. A contiguous fence around the entire airport area was built in spring 1973.<ref>Saltikoff, Valeri: ''Helsinki-Vantaan kuusi vuosikymmentä: Suomen ilmailumuseon näyttelyjulkaisu'', p. 18. Finnish Aviation Museum 2012. {{ISBN|978-951-8960-07-5}}.</ref>

During this time period, the airport was also called ''Seutula Airport'' after the nearby village [[Seutula]].<ref>{{Cite web|first=Jussi|last=Latvala|title=Helsinki-Vantaa airport to get railway after 60 years|url=http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/2671-helsinki-vantaa-airport-to-get-railway-after-60-years-2.html|website=[[Helsinki Times]]|date=21 June 2012|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Helsinki airport inaugurates southern wing expansion|url=http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2017-08/25/content_41471140.htm|website=[[China.org.cn]]|date=25 August 2017|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref>

=== New terminal and first Asian flights (1970s–1990s) ===
The year 1973 saw the first security checks being carried out for international flights. The name Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was used from 1977, with the airport being known as the Helsinki Airport before this.<ref>[http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/enemman-tietoa/tiedotearkisto/tiedote/id=3860442/t=helsinki-vantaan-lentoasema Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema avattiin 50 vuotta sitten], Finavia 17 June 2002. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref> The postal code of the airport was ''01530 Helsinki-Lento'' until 1974, ''01530 Helsinki-Vantaa-Lento'' from 1974 to 1983 and ''01530 Vantaa'' from 1983 onwards.

The [[Finnish Defence Forces]] surrounded the airport in late autumn 1977, in order to protect the airport from a possible terrorist strike by the [[Red Army Faction]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vintti.yle.fi/yle.fi/tv1/juttuarkisto/dokumentit/muisti-suomi-varpaillaan-terrorismin-takia.html|title=Muisti: Suomi varpaillaan terrorismin takia &#124; YLE TV1 &#124; yle.fi|website=vintti.yle.fi}}</ref>

In 1983, the airport began offering the first non-stop service from Western Europe to Japan as [[Finnair]] commenced regular service between Helsinki and [[Tokyo]] with a single [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER]]. In the 1970s, [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] operated flights from Helsinki to the US. The passenger terminal was expanded for the first time in 1983 and five years later, in 1988, the airport handled over six million passengers annually.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In 1991, [[Delta Air Lines]] began its operations at the airport. A new terminal was constructed for domestic flights in 1993. In 1996, the international terminal was expanded and merged with the domestic terminal. At the same time, the new control tower was completed. In 1997, a new VIP President terminal was opened for official international state visits. In November 1999, the international terminal was further expanded and the lobby for arriving and departing passengers was built.

=== New millennium and expansion of non-Schengen area (2000–2009) ===
A historical event in 2000 was that the annual number of visitors to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport surpassed 10 million.<ref>[http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/historia Helsinki-Vantaan viisi vuosikymmentä], Finavia. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref> Approach traffic control moved from the so-called "cave" into its new overground premises.

New border controls of the [[Schengen Agreement]] were taken into use in 2001. The third runway was inaugurated on 28 November 2002 and the first user was [[Finnair]]'s [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] en route to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York]]. In 2004, the international terminal was again expanded and a new shopping area was opened for long-haul passengers. A new air cargo service was opened for passengers with overweight luggage. 24 new automatic check-in terminals were taken into use in 2006.<ref>[http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/hel_tiedote?id=66062 Helsinki-Vantaalla on otettu käyttöön uudet lähtöselvitysautomaatit], Finavia 29 November 2006. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref>

On 13 August 2007 a new [[Hilton Hotels & Resorts|Hilton]] hotel, Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was opened near the airport, with 330 rooms.<ref>[http://www.hiltonnordics.com/fin/suomi/helsinki/hilton-helsinki-airport-hotel.html Hilton Helsinki Airport Hotel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213215834/http://www.hiltonnordics.com/fin/suomi/helsinki/hilton-helsinki-airport-hotel.html |date=13 February 2015 }}, Finavia. Accessed on 13 February 2015.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071005172458/http://www.finavia.fi/hilton_helsinki-vantaaairport Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport], Finavia. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref> Independent use of parallel runways started in November 2007.<ref>Ollikainen, Hannu: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071214221631/http://www.kauppalehti.fi/4/i/uutiset/etusivu/uutinen.jsp?oid=7935 Aamuruuhkat helpottavat Helsinki-Vantaalla], ''[[Kauppalehti]]'' 26 November 2007. Accessed on 26 November 2007.</ref>

A free-of-charge [[WLAN]] network was opened at the airport on 25 November 2008.<ref>[http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/hel_tiedote?id=73292 Finavia avasi ilmaisen langattoman verkon Helsinki-Vantaalle], Finavia 25 November 2008. Accessed on 30 December 2008.</ref>

In autumn 2009, the airport saw a great deal of industrial action, as Finavia outsourced check-in security controls. The security controls were moved over to the cleaning and building service concern SOL. The labour agreements also changed. SOL started co-operation negotiations for 80 employees in January 2010. Outsourcing the security services had a positive impact on Finavia's economy, as this allowed the company to reach significant cost savings during the first half of 2010 compared to the second half of the previous year. This was largely because of the outsourcing of the security services at the Helsinki Airport.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110520063540/http://www.finavia.fi/tietoafinaviasta/taloustietoja/osavuosikatsaus/2_2010 Finavia Oyj: Osavuosikatsaus 1.1.–30.6.2010], Finavia 25 August 2010. Accessed on 27 August 2010.</ref> In late 2012, the Labour Court of Finland gave a statement that the security services at the airport were under the labour agreement of the security guard industry. After this, SOL terminated its contract, to end at the end of 2014 in the middle of its contract period.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pam.fi/uutiset/solille-jaa-sittenkin-tynka-helsinki-vantaan-turvatarkastuksista.html | title=SOLille jää sittenkin tynkä Helsinki-Vantaan turvatarkastuksista | access-date=24 October 2022 | archive-date=18 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518040508/https://www.pam.fi/uutiset/solille-jaa-sittenkin-tynka-helsinki-vantaan-turvatarkastuksista.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Finnair outsourced its baggage handling services from its daughter company Northport to Barona Handling in November to December 2009, after which the baggage handling employees went on an illegal strike for four days. During New Year from 2009 to 2010, thousands of bags lay untouched at the airport, inaccessible to their owners. According to the employees, there were one tenth less people handling the loading of the baggage than before. The Aviation Union accused Barona of neglecting safety regulations when unloading the accumulated pile of baggage during the industrial action.<ref>[http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2009/12/iau_helsinki-vantaalla_rikottu_turvamaarayksia_1256884.html IAU: Helsinki-Vantaalla rikottu turvamääräyksiä], [[YLE]] 10 December 2009. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref> In January 2010, the [[Finnish News Agency]] wrote that some of the employees had sent baggage to the wrong destination on purpose.<ref>[http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/kotimaa.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2009/05/879220 Helsinki-Vantaan turvatarkastajat palasivat töihin], MTV.fi 16 May 2009. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.taloussanomat.fi/liikenne/2010/01/05/lentokentan-turvatarkastajat-joutuvat-pakkolomalle/2010136/139?offset=10 Lentokentän turvatarkastajat joutuvat pakkolomalle], ''[[Taloussanomat]]'' 5 January 2010. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/artikkeli/1135252014475 Työntekijät kiistävät sabotoineensa matkatavaroiden käsittelyä], ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' 9 January 2010. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref> In 2009, the airport dropped out of the list of the Airport Service Quality research.<ref>[http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2010/02/helsinki-vantaa_haluaa_takaisin_lentoasemien_parhaimmistoon_1480101.html Helsinki-Vantaa haluaa takaisin lentoasemien parhaimmistoon], [[YLE]] 26 February 2010. Accessed on 26 February 2010.</ref>

In 2009, an expansion of Terminal 2 was completed. The total floor area was {{convert|43908|m2}}. The same year witnessed the opening of a new shopping area and spa for passengers on long-haul flights, the removal of a terminal-specific division between domestic and international flights in favour a division by airline, and the renovation of Terminal 1 for international flights.<ref>[http://www.finavia.fi/finavia_tiedote?id=1118633 Lennot operoidaan Helsinki-Vantaalla uusista terminaaleista 5.8. kello 5 alkaen]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Finavia 5 August 2009. Accessed on 5 August 2009.</ref> In the same year, [[TAP Air Portugal]] commenced service between Helsinki and Lisbon.

Five new passenger bridges for [[wide-body aircraft]] were opened in 2009. The spa was closed down in 2012 because of lack of use.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140201234043/http://www.iltasanomat.fi/matkat/art-1288452548587.html Helsinki-Vantaan lentokenttäkylpylä lopetti], ''[[Ilta-Sanomat]]'' 2 March 2012. Accessed on 22 January 2014.</ref> In 2011, the annual number of passengers at the airport grew by 15.5% to 14.9 million passengers. About 25% of passengers were transferring to a connecting flight at the airport. 12.2 million passengers were on international flights and 2.7 million on domestic flights. A total of 1.63 million passengers were on flights to [[Asia]].<ref>Suomenennätys lentomatkustuksen määrässä, ''Siivet'' magazine issue #1/2012, p. 7. Apali Oy.</ref>

=== Significant growth and expansion (2010–present) ===
During the 2010s, Helsinki Airport experienced large increases in the number of annual passengers. In 2010, the airport handled 12,883,399 passengers, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to 2009. Air freight increased by 29.4 percent.

In April 2010, [[Norwegian Air Shuttle]] opened its first routes to [[Oslo Airport, Gardermoen|Oslo]] and [[Stockholm Arlanda Airport|Stockholm]] using [[Boeing 737]] jets. Now the airline is one of the largest operators at the airport with almost 40 destinations in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 2011, Helsinki Airport saw its biggest growth in a single year in the number of passengers. The number of annual passengers was increased by 2 million passengers and the airport reached the milestone of 14 million passengers. However, [[easyJet]] canceled three routes, from Helsinki to Manchester, London–Gatwick, and Paris–Charles de Gaulle, citing weak demand at Helsinki.<ref name="anna.aero_20110323" />

In November 2011, [[Austrian Airlines]] canceled its Vienna–Helsinki operations. In the same year, [[Czech Airlines]] ceased its Helsinki operations due to low demand.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} A year after, [[LOT Polish Airlines]] canceled its service to Helsinki. In 2014, a number of airlines such as [[Aer Lingus]], [[Germanwings]], and [[S7 Airlines]] canceled services to Helsinki.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In the 2010s, the airport saw a huge growth of long-haul flights in terms of weekly flights (see [[#Long-haul traffic|Long-haul traffic]] below).

In the beginning of 2015, the renovation and construction work related to the development of Helsinki Airport started. For example, the Baggage Claim Hall 2B and Arrival Hall 2A were renovated and in July 2015, train operation on the [[Ring Rail Line]] and connection to Helsinki Central Railway Station were opened. In March 2015, [[Swiss International Air Lines]] started operations to Helsinki but canceled it a year later. In late 2015, [[Blue1]] ceased all operations from Helsinki which was the airline's only base. The airline flew to 28 destinations in Europe. [[Scandinavian Airlines]] sold Blue1 to [[CityJet]], which continues to operate the company on behalf of SAS as part of a larger relationship.<ref name="businesswire_20151001" /> In 2015, the airport handled up to 16 million passengers for the first time. In March 2016, Czech Airlines resumed flights from Prague to Helsinki using [[Airbus A319]] aircraft. On 10 October 2016, the first Gulf carrier [[Qatar Airways]] began operations at the airport and now operates to Helsinki by [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]]. The carrier was initially planning to launch the service as early as 2012. Finavia expects that the airport will handle over 18.5 million passengers in 2017 and around 20 million in 2018, or in 2019 at the latest.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Also in 2017, the airport experienced huge growth in numbers of passengers flying intercontinental.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

As of 2013, [[Finavia]] has been expanding the airport (see [[#Future expansion and plans|Future expansion]] below).

Life in HEL (#lifeinhel) was a Finavia marketing campaign which took place from 10 October to 9 November 2017 at Helsinki Airport. The campaign mixed TV, game shows, and social media. Ryan Zhu, a Chinese actor and TV personality, lived in a little cabin inside Helsinki Airport for 30 days. Helsinki Airport was awarded the title of best airport in the world by Travellink; by the campaign, Finavia wanted to prove this claim.<ref>[https://lifeinhel.tv/files/LIFEINHEL_PR-ENG.pdf Press release (English)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021164014/https://lifeinhel.tv/files/LIFEINHEL_PR-ENG.pdf |date=21 October 2017 }}, lifeinhel.tv, Retrieved 21 October 2017</ref>

A new terminal expansion was opened in 2012. The terminals 1 and 2 were combined on 21 June 2022 so that all flights are now operated from a single terminal.<ref>[https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/art-2000008887118.html Lentoliikenne | Helsinki–Vantaalla palataan vuosikymmeniä vanhaan käytäntöön: kaikki keskitetään yhteen terminaaliin], ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' 15 June 2022. Accessed on 15 June 2022.</ref><ref>[https://yle.fi/news/3-12506026 Helsinki Airport streamlines operations into one terminal], [[YLE]] 22 June 2022. Accessed on 23 June 2022.</ref>