Snow, icy runways and severe cold complicate winter operations in Finnish Lapland, where Finnair pilots assess runway conditions shortly before landing and may divert when the available distance or weather is unsuitable. The operational detail comes as Finnair prepares to resume its seasonal Zurich–Kittilä service on 5 December, after a six-year break. The route will operate twice weekly with an Embraer E190 flown by subsidiary Nordic Regional Airlines.
Jari Paajanen, Finnair’s vice president of operations control and a pilot, described how contaminated runway surfaces can increase landing distance. Pilots calculate whether the runway is sufficient using an updated condition report, and must apply firm touchdown and use the aircraft’s braking and directional-control systems. Kittilä’s runway is 2,500 metres long and 45 metres wide.
De-icing presents a separate constraint: the time allowed between treatment and take-off varies with conditions, while extreme cold can make the fluid too viscous to work as intended. Last winter, temperatures of about −34°C to −36°C combined with freezing fog led to cancellations on two or three days and diversions to Rovaniemi or Oulu. Paajanen described that combination as rare. Rovaniemi is the usual alternate for Kittilä, with Oulu and, in severe regional conditions, Helsinki also available.
The Zurich–Kittilä flight is scheduled to take three hours and 40 minutes, operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Finnair also plans seasonal services from Brussels to Kittilä and from Paris to Rovaniemi. Winter operations in northern Finland typically run from early November to late April.