Editing Helsinki Airport (section)

=== 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>