Finnish Airports See Record Post-Pandemic Passenger Numbers in July
Finland’s airports experienced a significant increase in passenger traffic in July, marking the busiest month for air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Statistics Finland, nearly two million passengers flew through the country’s airports last month, a 7% rise compared to July 2025.
The figures represent the highest passenger volume since 2019, though they remain below pre-pandemic levels. Yle reports that in July 2019, airports handled just over 2.3 million passengers—approximately 400,000 more than this year. Sami Penttilä, a senior actuary at Statistics Finland, noted that while the recovery is underway, full pre-pandemic numbers have yet to be reached.
Domestic flights saw a 9% increase in passengers compared to July 2025, while international flights grew by 7%. Daily Finland highlights that 90% of all passengers in July travelled on international flights, with Helsinki Airport accounting for the majority of traffic—1.7 million passengers, or 94% of its total, were on international routes. Other domestic airports handled 159,000 passengers, with 38% of those travelling internationally.
From January to July 2026, Finnish airports served a total of 12.5 million passengers, a 6% increase from the same period in 2025. However, this remains nearly three million fewer than the 15.2 million passengers recorded in the first seven months of 2019 (Yle). The data also shows that 98% of all passengers in July travelled on scheduled flights (Daily Finland).
