Turkish Airlines to carry tourists to Finnish Lapland through new Istanbul hub
Flights are scheduled from Istanbul three times a week starting next winter season.
Istanbul’s new giant airport opened this week and aims at becoming a global key hub for passengers traveling between Europe, Asia and Africa.
National carrier Turkish Airlines has announced Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland as the northernmost among the airline’s 300 destinations in 60 nations with direct flights from Istanbul.
First flights start in late November next year, YLE reports (in Finnish). The airline says it will provide further details about the route later.
Last year had a record-breaking growth in the number of passengers at Lapland’s airports with 1,3 million, a 23% growth since 2016. For Rovaniemi airport, the growth was 19%, Finavia reports.
Currently, Rovaniemi airport sees a massive expansion with passenger space increasing from 6,000 square meters to about 10,500 square meters. The expansion will be completed before Christmas season next year.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Indigenous Cultural Tourism: How the North is learning from community success in southern Canada, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Chinese tourists replacing Japanese visitors in Finnish Lapland, Yle News
Iceland: Arctic tourism in the age of Instagram, Eye on the Arctic special report
Norway: Several ships being launched to feed Arctic cruise boom, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russian regional airline cancels only direct Murmansk-Oslo link, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Growing number of Swedes choose train travel over flying to reduce pollution, Radio Sweden
United States: Blog – When the ice melts, what will happen to Arctic tourism?, Cryopolitics blog
