Getting There By Air
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Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport (HEL)
Tel: (0200) 4636 (cost €57 per minute, plus local net charge) Fax: (09) 8277 3296.
Website: www.ilmailulaitos.com
The airport, with two linked terminals for national and international traffic, is located in Vantaa, 20km (12 miles) from the city centre. Helsinki is served by direct flights from all major European cities. There is a daily service from New York and direct flights from Miami, San Francisco and Toronto (in North America), and from Singapore, Bangkok and Tokyo (in East Asia).
Major airlines: The national airline is Finnair (tel: (09) 600 8100 or 818 800, 24-hour automated telephone service in English; e-mail: information@finnair.fi; website: www.finnair.fi). Over 25 other airlines fly into Helsinki, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental Ailines, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS.
Approximate flight times to Helsinki: From London is 2 hours 50 minutes; from New York is 8 hours; from Los Angeles is 17 hours 15 minutes; from Toronto is 8 hours 40 minutes and from Sydney is 27 hours 30 minutes.
Airport facilities: These include duty-free shops and boutiques, restaurants, bars, R-kioski (newsagents), bureaux de change, a bank, automatic exchange machine, ATMs, travel agencies, tourist information and car hire from Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz.
Business facilities: There is a VIP lounge with fax and telephone facilities and a cafeteria, as well as teamwork rooms, seating up to eight people, in the international terminal and a conference room, seating up to 30 people, in the domestic terminal. These are available for hire (tel: (09) 8277 3117). The Helsinki Airport Congress Centre (tel: (09) 818 3737), has rooms and halls that are able to hold up to 140, all with AV equipment and modem connections.
Arrival/departure tax: A departure tax of €12 is included in the price of the ticket.
Transport to the city: Bus 615 (see Getting Around) goes to Rautatientori (Railway Square) every 20-30 minutes and bus 617 to Elielinaukio. The fare for both buses is €3 (journey time – approximately 35 minutes). A Finnair bus (tel: (09) 4157 5100) costs €4.50 or €3.50 with the Helsinki Card (see Passes section in Sightseeing) and stops at the Scandic Continental and Radisson SAS Hesperia (a joint stop), terminating at the railway station. Buses run to meet all flights. Standard taxis charge €25, while shared taxis, operated by Yellow Line (tel: (09) 106 464; website: www.airporttaxi.fi) cost €17 (journey time – 20-25 minutes).
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