Finavia Corporation is investing €13 million in the safety of air traffic and the operating conditions of business life and tourism in the Oulu region by renovating traffic areas at Oulu Airport. When implemented, this will be Finavia’s largest single investment in its regional airports in 2017, giving employment to hundreds of people during the summer.
The renovation will include resurfacing of the runway, the taxiways and the apron. In total, 360,000sqm of new asphalt will be spread over the renovated areas. Meanwhile, the lighting system serving the runway and taxiways will also be modernised, and the taxiways located at the ends of the runway will be upgraded for wide-bodied aircraft. The project will be carried out in summer when the traffic volume is lower.
“This renovation will have an impact on passenger traffic from Oulu, and we will do our best to minimise any negative impact by completing the project in stages,” explains Liisa Sallinen, Manager of Oulu Airport at Finavia. “After the renovation, Oulu Airport will be in historically good condition and even more capable to serve airlines and passengers.”
Oulu Airport is the second-busiest in Finland, and will this year reach the milestone of one million passengers. This renovation continues the previous modernisation of the airport completed in 2014, which focused on improving the passenger experience at the terminal. During the 2000s, Finavia has invested some €30 million in the airport. The goal of these significant investments is to secure the competitiveness of the airport.
Joni Sundelin, Senior Vice President, Finavia, comments: “Oulu Airport plays an important part for business life in the region and for Finland’s competitiveness in northern Finland. In Oulu, the number of passengers has developed positively, and customers are more and more satisfied with the airport service. The runway will be closed for a month and this will, unfortunately, have an impact on the comfort of passengers and the financial results of many providers of commercial services.”
“However, our objective is to secure the safety and smooth flow of traffic, as well as the capacity of the airport to respond to future growth in air traffic,” Sundelin continues. “This requires a high level of safety, which is also guaranteed by the proper maintenance of traffic areas.”
The renovation will be carried out in summer when the traffic volume is lower. The plan is to perform the renovation in three stages so that the runway will be fully closed between 26 June and 31 July 2017. During limited availability, night-time traffic, in particular, will be restricted. As a result, the period when the runway is fully unavailable will be as short as possible.
Planned schedule for 2017
Stage 1
- 27 April – 26 June: Shorter runway in use (1,800m/safety zone 300m)
- 2 – 28 May: Runway fully closed at nights from 22:00 to 05:30
Stage 2
- 26 June – 31 July: Runway fully closed
Stage 3
- 31 July – 13 August: Runway fully closed at nights from 22:00 to 05:30
- 31 July – 31 August: Shorter runway in use (1,800m/safety zone 300m)
