It is also a hub for CityJet (on behalf of SAS) and an operating base for Jettime, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Sunclass Airlines and TUI fly Nordic.

The airport has around 80 scheduled destinations to other parts of Europe and 21 direct long-haul routes to Asia, the Middle East, and North America.

The Aviation Union accused Barona of neglecting safety regulations when unloading the accumulated pile of baggage during the industrial action.

Scandinavian Airlines sold Blue1 to CityJet, which continues to operate the company on behalf of SAS as part of a larger relationship.

Life in HEL (#lifeinhel) was a Finavia marketing campaign which took place from 10 October to 9 November 2017 at Helsinki Airport.

Ryan Zhu, a Chinese actor and TV personality, lived in a little cabin inside Helsinki Airport for 30 days.

The purpose of the repair project, which cost 32 million euro, is to ensure the safety of taxiing and parking the airplanes and to improve the capacity and effectiveness of air traffic.

[citation needed] A two-part Avia Pilot building with 13 floors was built within walking distance of the terminal, with Finavia as its main tenant.

Passenger facilities include numerous tax-free shops, Avis, Europcar and Hertz-car rentals, free wireless Internet access, power sockets, lockers, sleeping pods and transfer service desks.

Currency exchange, cash machines (ATM), tourist information and an Alepa grocery store and pharmacy are also available.

As a part of Helsinki Airport's expansion plan, the new South Pier was inaugurated in June 2017 and Aukio in February 2019.

The new pier features moving walkways and dual boarding jet bridges to enable handling larger aircraft more efficiently.

In June 2016, the new bus terminal for remote aircraft stand operations was opened to increase the airport's capacity with gates 50A-M.

The airport is the main hub for Finnair, that operates over 1100 flights weekly to Europe, Asia, and North America.

In 2017, Helsinki Airport experienced the third highest growth rate and the second biggest increase in passenger numbers in the last 20 years.

[62] The airport's first long-haul route began on 15 May 1969 when Finnair commenced flights to New York City via Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

[citation needed] Today 36 intercontinental routes to North America, Asia, and the Middle East operate from Helsinki Airport.

[citation needed] Helsinki Airport offers non-stop flights to 162 destinations in over 50 countries around the world operated by over 20 airlines.

[159] In 2016, passengers from Japan, China, South Korea and United States made up the four largest groups of non-European travelers at Helsinki Airport.

In 2024, Finavia stated that "transfer travel from Asia to Europe via Helsinki Airport is (...) approximately 30% lower than in 2019" due to Russian reciprocal sanctions prohibiting Finnair among others, to use Russian airspace,[161] making the flight time on some routes several hours longer, more fuel consuming and previous flight connections impossible.

The railway link to the airport opened for traffic in July 2015[176] and serves local commuter trains running at 10-minute intervals during peak periods.

Plans also exist for a direct connection between Helsinki Central, the airport, and the long-distance rail network via Kerava.

[202] In order to achieve this, the airport will expand both of its terminals and open a new entrance in place of the current parking and public transport area.

[203] Among the completed and planned projects are:[204] Helsinki Airport has capacity for about 17 million passengers annually, although this number was passed in 2016.

The same office designed the previous Helsinki Airport expansions completed in 1996 and 1999, as well as the circular parking buildings in front of the terminal.

[213] All gates for long-haul flights will have double jet bridges (such as the ones at Incheon International Airport) to enable handling larger aircraft more efficiently.

Finavia has signed a contract with Thyssen Krupp Airport Systems for 16 widebody aircraft stands with up to 33 new jet bridges.

In June 2016, the new bus terminal for remote aircraft stand operations was opened to increase the airport's capacity with gates 50A-M.

The Helsinki Airport development program also includes plans to expand Terminal 2 to the area currently used for parking and public transport.

This would provide more space for check-in, security control and baggage operations, allowing the airport to concentrate all departure and arrival services in a single terminal.