Low cost terminal for Turku Airport

Right: Turku Airport is to add a new low-cost terminal

Finland’s airport operator Finavia has decided to convert a maintenance building at Turku Airport into a passenger terminal with a capacity for up to 12 flights per day.

The new terminal fits within Finavia’s low-cost concept introduced in 2003, which has a pricing structure specially designed to meet the needs of low-cost carriers. Wizz Air is expected to be the first carrier to take advantage of the new terminal when the reconstruction works are finished in April 2008. The Hungarian low-cost carrier will operate twice-weekly services between Turku and Gdanks, Poland.

The low-cost terminal concept at Turku will be able to handle only one aircraft at a time. Hence, the service will not be randomly available, but only at certain agreed times.

Terminal and ground handling services will be carried-out by Finavia’s ground handling subsidiary Airpro. A single ground handling service provider is an integral part of the concept and aims to keep costs as low as possible. All necessary ground handling duties will be provided at basic service levels only.

Apart from the new low-cost facility, Turku’s terminal 1 remains available for usual services to all airlines. Turku Airport is located in the Western part of Finland, 165km from the country’s capital Helsinki. It primarily serves as a regional airport and handled 26,203 passengers in November, a year-on-year decrease of 10.6%. During the first 11 months of the year, the airport welcomed 285,000 passengers, down 9.7%.

21 December 2007