Crosstown Traffic: Finding room at the most congested airports

Widening Helsinki horizons

Clearing space for new business was also the main impetus for a new proj­ect in Helsinki, where Finnair Cargo had reached its limit. The carrier’s 161,000-square-foot terminal at the Helsinki Airport was no longer practi­cal. Milla Nyholm, manager marketing and sustainability, said the existing facility would not be able to handle growing cargo volumes that the new A350 fleet will bring, nor was the exist­ing space designed for special cargoes, which are important for Finnair’s growth and profitability.

The airline broke ground this sum­mer on a major project to build a new terminal that will have 333,000 square feet of warehouse space, at a cost of around €80 million. The terminal is being built on land that was partially vacant and partially occupied by the aircraft engine test zone, which has been relocated. Included in this new facility will be a special cargo handling area for pharmaceutical and life sci­ence products, as well as consumables, including fish and seafood.

An option to add another 107,000 square-feet at the south end of the terminal is in the works, but has yet to be defined. “The terminal project is related to Finnair’s widebody aircraft fleet renewal,” Nyholm said. “The first [A350] will be introduced on the Shanghai route in October. Over 80 percent of shipments transported by Finnair Cargo is transit freight, and Finnair’s new A350 fleet will bring 50 percent more cargo capacity by the year 2020. Therefore, we need to have a new cargo terminal to ensure smooth handling of growing cargo flows.”

In other words, when it comes to cargo at airports, it’s all about the elbow room.

To read about runway infrastructure see Runway Fever