Finland presents plan for electric flight routes in Lapland

#NordicNews on air traffic and Finland

Finland tests the use of electric aircraft in Lapland

Electric aircraft could soon be used at Enontekiö Airport. A project is testing the feasibility on routes throughout Lapland. Electric aircraft opens up new opportunities to serve routes that cannot currently be operated profitably.

For Enontekiö, this could mean year-round air traffic in the future. Enontekiö is centrally located and the longest flight distance of around 300 kilometers is within the range of an electric aircraft.

This autumn, the route from Rovaniemi to Tromsø via Enontekiö will be tested with a propeller-driven turbine aircraft with 19 seats. The flight, including a stopover, takes about one hour.

Shorter travel times offer good benefits not only to tourists, but also to Finnish workers in northern Norway, entrepreneurs and patients. A patient could be transferred from Ivalo to Rovaniemi within an hour by plane - a journey that would take three to four hours by road.

Renewable fuels as a first step

Initially, the new routes from/to Enontekiö will be flown with aircraft powered by renewable fuels. Finland has not committed to completely abandoning fossil fuels in the foreseeable future. "Airlines have a lot of internal combustion engine equipment, and solutions must be found that can be used in an economical and at the same time in an environmentally responsible way," according to Henri Hansson, Technical Director of the airport company Finavia.

More on Finlands plans on electric aircraft.

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