Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa airport has announced that it will open the first section of its €150m terminal expansion on 27 August.
The airport expansion, which includes new passenger gates and larger waiting rooms, is primarily designed to help the airport handle growth in long-distance traffic particularly from Asia, Europe and the US.
A new luggage handling centre will also be introduced at the airport alongside a 280m tunnel that will link the international terminal’s current and future luggage spaces.
Once complete, the luggage processing system will have a peak capacity of 7,000 bags and will be over 10km long.
The second and third phase of the project will see new shops and dining facilities added to the terminal which is due to completed by 11 December.
Upon completion, the expanded terminal will be capable of accommodating 13.5 million items of luggage and 15 to 16 million passengers a year.
