Private jet to Finland

Finland has two private aviation markets that have little in common. In the south, Helsinki and its neighbour Espoo hold the head offices of technology, engineering, forestry and shipbuilding groups, and business traffic runs all year. In the north, 700-900 km further up, Lapland lives from winter: Christmas in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle, skiing in Levi, Ylläs and Saariselkä, husky and snowmobile safaris and the northern lights from late August to early April.

A private jet links the two without a change of aircraft, or skips the capital altogether: Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo take business jets from across Europe directly. Helsinki-Vantaa has a business and VIP terminal open 24 hours; the Lapland airports keep coordinated hours in the winter peak, and parking there is the first thing to sell out. Remember the clock: Finland is two hours ahead of London and one hour ahead of Paris and Berlin. As a broker, we compare aircraft from operators across Europe and plan the slot, the de-icing and the transfer in one quote.

Send the route, the dates, the number of passengers and tell us if the trip is to the capital or to Lapland, and a consultant replies with aircraft, airport and price.

Why clients fly privately to Finland

Flight times from the main hubs

How long the light jet takes, per the Phenom 300 column of the tables:

From central Europe a light jet reaches Lapland non-stop, and Lapland is only 500-750 km further than Helsinki. The long sectors are Madrid - Helsinki at 4:26 h and Larnaca - Helsinki at 4:22 h, still non-stop in a Phenom 300. When planning, add the time difference: a light jet leaving Farnborough at 08:00 lands in Helsinki at about 13:00 local time.

Prices for a private flight to Finland

Read every price as a one-way hire of the complete aircraft from a base near your departure airport; handling, airport charges and passenger taxes are quoted on top, and the time column follows the first aircraft listed. Rows go to six Finnish airports, from Turku on the south-west coast to Ivalo in the far north.

From the European hubs

Copenhagen - Helsinki is the cheapest row of this table at EUR 12,500 in a Phenom 300, followed by Hamburg - Turku at EUR 13,000. London and Paris cost the same EUR 17,000 to Helsinki. Lapland costs only a little more: Amsterdam - Kittilä is EUR 17,500 and Munich - Rovaniemi EUR 18,500 in the same light jet.

From the Nordic and Baltic neighbours and Poland

Across the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic the distances are short, so this table starts with the Citation M2, a very light jet for up to six passengers:

Tallinn - Helsinki is 101 km, 0:39 h in an M2 for EUR 7,500. Stockholm - Turku and Tromsø - Kittilä both cost EUR 8,000, and the second one is a simple way to combine the Norwegian fjords and the Finnish fells in one winter trip.

Within the country

From Helsinki to Ivalo it is more than 900 km, and the railway does not go that far north. Domestic legs are open to any operator licensed in the EU:

On the legs from Helsinki the turboprop costs EUR 8,500-9,500 against EUR 12,000-13,000 for the PC-24, but needs 27-37 minutes more. Rovaniemi - Ivalo, within Lapland, is the cheapest leg at EUR 7,000 by Pilatus PC-12.

Long-haul flights

Tel Aviv and Dubai are flown non-stop. From New York the Challenger 650 needs one fuel stop, while the Falcon 7X and the Global 7500 fly direct. All three runways at Helsinki-Vantaa, and the 3,000 m runway at Rovaniemi, take these aircraft.

Hours flown, plus any positioning flight that brings the jet to you, make up most of the price. Finland has no national passenger tax, so a departure from Helsinki or Rovaniemi carries airport and handling charges only. Inbound flights carry the tax of the country they leave: about EUR 420 per passenger on a jet from France and about half that on a turboprop; EUR 200 per passenger on flights to or from Italy at these distances; EUR 12 from Austria. Denmark taxes departures in aircraft over 5.7 t or with more than 10 seats, Germany and Norway have departure taxes, the Netherlands taxes aircraft of 5.7 t or more, Sweden has no tax, and the UK charges Air Passenger Duty on aircraft over 5.7 t, at the standard rate of the distance band for most jets and the higher rate for aircraft of 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats. De-icing from October to April is a separate line in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips with their real cost

Price per person

Shared out per seat, the light jet fares of the main table come to:

Calculator

For a Helsinki and Lapland combination, another Finnish airport or a return, the calculator gives a first figure:

Airports and terminals

Almost all Finnish airports are run by the state company Finavia. Helsinki-Vantaa is the only one with its own 24-hour terminal for business aviation. The Lapland airports all have runways of about 2,500 m or more, long enough for any business jet, but fewer facilities, and in the winter peak arrival and departure times at Rovaniemi and Kittilä are coordinated in advance. The handling company Jetflite also works at Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo and Oulu.

Neighbours and alternates

Oulu, on the Gulf of Bothnia, is the technology city of the north and a weather alternate for Lapland. The old Helsinki airfield at Malmi is closed to flights, so the capital is served only by Vantaa. Across the gulf, Tallinn is 101 km away and often combined with Helsinki in one trip. In the north, Tromsø in Norway and Kiruna in Sweden are short hops from Kittilä and Ivalo.

From the airport to the address

Choosing the aircraft

For Helsinki on business, light jets carry most groups of up to six. Lapland is about luggage: a family in winter clothing, with skis and Christmas presents, fills a light jet hold quickly, so we often suggest a midsize jet or a Challenger 350. On the snow-covered 2,500 m runways in the north the operator checks landing performance for the chosen jet before we confirm it.

Helsinki and Lapland across the twelve months

For Helsinki, May, September and October are the easiest months for business, with good availability and no Lapland rush. For Lapland, March offers long bright days with snow and calmer airports than the Christmas weeks or February. Empty Legs are most frequent in Lapland from December to March, when aircraft drop families at Rovaniemi and Kittilä and fly back south empty, and on weekday evenings between Helsinki and the other Nordic capitals.

Empty Legs to and from Finnish airports

Most Empty Legs here are the return halves of Lapland drop-offs: the jet heads home without passengers on the operator's date and hour, and the price drops accordingly. Typical directions:

When the original charter changes, the leg can be withdrawn, so it suits travellers with flexible dates. Mail empty-legs@jets.flights with where and when you want to fly; legs that match are forwarded as soon as operators release them.

Flying with a dog or cat

Finland applies the EU pet rules, bans no dog breeds and adds one requirement for dogs. The pet flies in the cabin, not the hold, after the operator has agreed to carry it.

What the animal needs:

• Microchip to ISO standard, implanted before the rabies vaccination.
• A first rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks of age or later and at least 21 days before the trip.
• Papers: the EU pet passport, or for animals coming from Great Britain an animal health certificate.
• Dogs: tapeworm treatment by a vet 24-120 hours before landing in Finland, recorded in the passport. Cats and ferrets are exempt.
• Dogs arriving directly from Norway, Ireland, Northern Ireland or Malta are exempt from the tapeworm rule.
• Up to five dogs, cats or ferrets per person on a non-commercial trip.

Frequent travellers can switch to a fixed routine instead: two treatments at most 28 days apart, then one at least every 28 days, each recorded by the vet. Dogs returning to Great Britain need their own tapeworm treatment 1-5 days before arrival and must travel on an approved route; for a trip of five days or less it can be given in the UK before departure, no later than 24 hours before the return. Ask the hotel or lodge whether dogs are allowed before the aircraft is booked.

Documents, customs and taxes

Before departure

• Passport or ID card for every passenger, children included.
• Full names and passport or ID numbers 24 hours before take-off.
• First meeting or hotel check-in given in Finnish time.
• Skis, sledges, winter clothing and presents counted for the hold.
• Dog: vet appointment for the tapeworm treatment, timed to the landing.
• Hotel and safari bookings in Lapland confirmed before the aircraft.
• Invoice details: company name and VAT number.

How to book

1. Send the route, the dates, the number of passengers and their luggage, and say whether the trip includes Lapland.
2. We work back from your meeting or hotel time with the flight time and the time difference, and check slots and parking at Helsinki and in Lapland.
3. You receive aircraft options from several operators with prices and flight times, including de-icing and the cost of any empty positioning legs.
4. Once the contract is signed and paid, we order handling, de-icing, the car and any helicopter or snowmobile transfer.
5. Plan to arrive 20-30 minutes before take-off; at Vantaa the car meets you at the business terminal, in Lapland at the aircraft.

Questions about private flights to Finland

• • How much does a private jet to Finland cost?

  • Rovaniemi - Ivalo by turboprop costs EUR 7,000, the cheapest row. A Phenom 300 from Copenhagen to Helsinki is EUR 12,500 and from London EUR 17,000, one way for the whole aircraft, fees extra.

• • Can we fly straight to Lapland without stopping in Helsinki?

  • Yes. Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo take business jets directly; a Phenom 300 flies Munich - Rovaniemi in 3:24 h non-stop.

• • Which airport for Levi?

  • Kittilä, 15 km from the resort. Ylläs is about half an hour from the same airport.

• • Is the Helsinki terminal open at night?

  • Yes. Finavia's business and VIP terminal at Helsinki-Vantaa is staffed 24 hours, with customs and passport control.

• • What does my dog need for Finland?

  • The EU basics (microchip, rabies vaccination, pet passport) plus a vet's tapeworm treatment 24-120 hours before you land. Cats are exempt from the worm treatment.

• • Is there a passenger tax in Finland?

  • No national one. The departure country of the inbound leg may charge its own, and every amount is listed in the quote.

• • What is the time difference?

  • Finland is two hours ahead of London and one hour ahead of central Europe, all year.

• • How early should we book Christmas in Rovaniemi?

  • As soon as the dates are fixed. In late December parking at Rovaniemi and Kittilä is the first thing to sell out.

• • Do I need a passport?

  • From Schengen countries an ID card is enough for the operator, but a passport is safer. From the UK every passenger needs one.

• • Are there Empty Legs to and from Finland?

  • Many in winter from Lapland to central Europe, and all year between Helsinki and the Nordic capitals. Send your dates to empty-legs@jets.flights.

• • Can a light jet land in Lapland in winter?

  • Yes. The runways are about 2,500 m or longer and are cleared all winter; the operator checks performance on snow for each flight.