Helsinki, the capital of the neighboring RussianThe Federation of the State of Finland, affably calls to its territory not only the Finns themselves, but travelers from all corners of the globe. The cozy streets, shady green parks and the friendly attitude of the local residents impress everyone who first appeared here. Russian tourists here are treated like brothers. For more than a century, Finland was part of the Russian Empire, beginning in 1808, when Emperor Alexander the First announced the conquest of this land. Every year more and more of our compatriots visit the country. Someone comes to New Year's holidays, someone - just walk around the capital, and for someone Helsinki - just the beginning of the cruise. Almost in all cases, the ways of each of the tourists go here - to the International Airport Vantaa (Helsinki).
Sputnik of the capital
The capital of Finland with every decadeexpands. Almost a dozen of its satellite cities are already in Helsinki. The largest of them are Espoo and Vantaa. The latter is located near the Gulf of Finland in the province of Uusimaa. It is based on the river of the same name and is the fourth largest city in Finland. Vantaa is famous mainly for the fact that here are the largest air gates of the country: Vantaa International Airport (Helsinki). A large number of business parks have been built in the city, the leading Scandinavian hotel chains open their apartments to the guests in the immediate vicinity of the airport. The small distance from the airport and the minimal time for the transfer attracts large companies to this area for lectures and seminars, as well as for locating their branches here. On the way to Vantaa airport you can find neon lights of such world brands as Valio, Onninen, Alfa Laval-Finkoyl, Finair, Uporor and many others.
History
The first runway of the airfieldThey opened in 1952, and after only four years - the second. In the same 1956, Vantaa Airport (Helsinki) made a huge step forward to ensure flight safety, establishing a radar control system for aircraft. In 1969, the first commercial passenger flight was sent from the new terminal. Four years later, the airline security service and pre-flight inspections of international flights. In 1984 the passenger terminal was decided to expand, and it was supposed to be done without stopping its functioning. Three years later the reconstruction was completed, and the airport reached a new level in terms of the number of passengers accepted and the quality of their service.
Further development
In 1993, a new terminal was opened forservice domestic flights. Three years later, the terminals were connected by a special closed pedestrian crossing. In the same year, the hotel and the congress center were opened at the entrance to Vantaa Airport. Parking for private passenger cars has been expanded. A new gallery of shops became available to aviaturists. A year later, in 1997, they opened a VIP-hall for the reception of official governmental and presidential delegations. In the same year the airport was first recognized as the best in the world. Two years later, they opened new arrival and departure halls in the international terminal. In 2001, new points of passport control were opened. To issue a tax refund to passengers became possible not only after, but before registration. In 2002, the third runway opens. All these events allowed the airport to bring passenger traffic to the values of more than 10 million people a year.
New era
2009 was a year of change.The Helsinki-Vantaa Airport has completely rebuilt the domestic terminal of T1. Construction work in the arrival hall, luggage area, with check-in desks were completed by the end of the year. Passengers became available to new shops and more convenient counters of car rental outlets. In the international terminal, the aerodrome improved the existing passenger service system and built a new luggage center. The board of Vantaa Airport was partially modernized, replacing part of the electronics with a more modern one.
By train
To unload the bus shuttle service from thethe city decided to erect a direct rail link with Helsinki. The branch was supposed to be opened in September 2012, however, due to a number of technical problems, the revision of the project was required. The first train with passengers left Vantaa airport on July 1, 2015, heading for the Central Station of the capital.
To Europe
In the context of the economic crisis and foreign exchangepeople learn to save economically. Flights to Europe from the territory of Russia are becoming more expensive every month. The situation is worsened by the constant growth of the dollar and euro. Low-cost airlines offer suitable conditions only for people traveling alone and without luggage. For family tourists, the cost of a ticket with all surcharges for standard amenities, as a rule, is not much cheaper than the tariffs of famous air carriers. A combination of these factors forced Russian tourists to go to the trick. They drive their own car to Finland, leave the car in a parking lot, and fly to Europe through the intermediation of European companies at low prices. If you go by the whole family, then such a transfer turns out to be much more profitable than direct flight. Parking at the airport Vantaa (Helsinki) for 18 days will cost 52 euros. Flight Helsinki-Barcelona, for example, at the peak of the season - about 30-60 euros per person. The benefit speaks for itself. For those who do not want to cover the distance to North Palmira from the capital behind the wheel independently, RZD offers a service for transportation of personal vehicles. That is, you travel on a train along with your car. And on arrival, only five or six hours' drive to Helsinki will be left.
