Finnair Adds 12 European Routes And New Lapland Nonstops
Finnair will add 12 new European destinations from Helsinki (HEL) for summer 2026, lifting its network to 113 cities (93 Europe, 11 Asia, 7 North America including new Toronto, and 2 Middle East). The growth is enabled by an expanded wet-lease partnership with Denmark’s Jettime alongside Finnair’s own short-haul fleet. Separately, the carrier will debut three new nonstop winter links from European capitals to Finnish Lapland, complementing its extensive HEL connections.
Why now
After a turbulent 2025—industrial action, a temporary grounding of part of the A321 fleet over a cabin-care issue—Finnair has leaned into strengths: a fast, well-banked hub at HEL and surging leisure demand both to Southern Europe and the Nordics. Frequency gains to Japan position Finnair strongly in Europe–Asia flows; these new Europe routes widen the funnel feeding long-haul banks while giving Scandinavia and the Baltics better point-to-point options.
The 12 new routes from HEL (summer 2026)
| City | Country | IATA | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alta | Norway | ALF | 5× weekly |
| Catania | Italy | CTA | 3× weekly |
| Florence | Italy | FLR | 2× weekly |
| Kos | Greece | KGS | 2× weekly |
| Kuressaare | Estonia | URE | 3× weekly |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | LUX | 3× weekly |
| Stavanger | Norway | SVG | 8× weekly |
| Thessaloniki | Greece | SKG | 3× weekly |
| Tirana | Albania | TIA | 2× weekly |
| Turin | Italy | TRN | 3× weekly |
| Umeå | Sweden | UME | 9× weekly |
| Valencia | Spain | VLC | 2× weekly |
Highlights: Italy grows to nine destinations (adds CTA/FLR/TRN); Greece gains KGS/SKG; Norway expands with ALF/SVG; first-ever Tirana (TIA) for Finnair; strong regional lift with Umeå (UME) and Kuressaare (URE).
Lapland: new nonstop winter links (2026/27)
Finnair will add three capital-city nonstops into Lapland next winter, alongside its hub-and-spoke offering over HEL. Endpoints will include:
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Kittilä (KTT) — gateway to Levi & Ylläs; peak aurora season, snow sports, safari product.
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Rovaniemi (RVN) — capital of Lapland, on the Arctic Circle and home to Santa Claus Village.
(Exact origin cities, days, and aircraft allocations will be announced closer to on-sale; schedules will align with weekend and holiday peaks.)
ID 60866064 | Airbus A350 © Richair | Dreamstime.com
Fleet & operations
Flying will be covered by a mix of Finnair A320-family / E-Jets and wet-leased Jettime Boeing 737s, optimizing capacity by weekday/season. Expect morning departures and evening returns on several city-break markets for same-day and long-weekend utility, plus shoulder-season patterns in Southern Europe to smooth aircraft utilization.
What this means for travelers
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Better one-stops: More spokes into HEL mean simpler connections to North America (including YYZ), Japan (KIX/NGO), and beyond.
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Nordic depth: ALF/SVG/UME strengthen intra-Nordic access for business and outdoor travel.
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Sun & cities: CTA/FLR/TRN/VLC/KGS/SKG cover both culture and beach demand with efficient 2–3× weekly schedules.
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Lapland access: New nonstops reduce travel time to KTT/RVN in peak winter—key for families and short breaks.
Bottom Line
Finnair is pivoting from a tough 2025 into measured growth where demand is hottest: Southern Europe, the Nordics, and bucket-list Lapland. With HEL’s banked connectivity and extra lift from Jettime, the 2026 program broadens choice without overreaching—exactly the kind of incremental expansion that keeps planes full and schedules resilient.
