World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport (HEL)
Tel: (0200) 14636 (cost ¬0.57 per minute, plus local net charge).
Website: www.ilmailulaitos.fi/airport_helsinki-vantaa

The airport, with two linked terminals for national and international traffic, is located at Vantaa, 20km (12 miles) from the city centre. Helsinki is served by direct flights from many major European cities. There is a daily service from New York and direct flights from Boston (in North America), and from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Osaka and Tokyo (in Asia).

Major airlines: The national airline is Finnair (tel: (09) 600 8100 or 818 800, 24-hour automated telephone service in English; website: www.finnair.com). Over 25 other airlines fly into Helsinki, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air France, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa and SAS.

Approximate flight times to Helsinki: From London is 2 hours 55 minutes; from New York is 7 hours; from Los Angeles is 16 hours; from Toronto is 8 hours 40 minutes and from Sydney is 27 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include duty-free shops and boutiques, restaurants, bars, R-kioski (newsagents), bureaux de change, a bank, automatic exchange machine, ATMs, travel agencies, tourist information and car hire from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. A new Hilton hotel is due to open close to the terminal in September 2007.

Business facilities: There is a VIP lounge with fax and telephone facilities and a cafeteria, as well as meeting rooms, seating up to eight people, in the international terminal and a conference room, seating up to 30 people, in the domestic terminal. These are available for hire (tel: (09) 8277 3117). The Helsinki Airport Congress Centre (tel: (09) 818 3737), has rooms and halls that are able to hold up to 140, all with AV equipment and Internet connections.

Transport to the city: Buses no. 415, 451 and 615 (see Getting Around) go to Rautatientori (Railway Square) every 20-30 minutes (journey time – approximately 35 minutes). A Finnair bus (tel: (09) 4157 5100) stops at the Scandic Continental and Radisson SAS Hesperia (a joint stop), terminating at the railway station. Buses run to meet all flights. Standard taxis charge about ¬30, while shared taxis, operated by Yellow Line (tel: 0600 555 555; website: www.airporttaxi.fi) cost ¬17 one-way, ¬33 return (journey time – 30-50 minutes).