Tampere–Pirkkala airport re-opened after renovation

Tampere-Pirkkala airport is renewed, now suitable for even the biggest Finnair aircrafts. The Airport Manager Mari Nurminen says that the runway and the ramp make it possible for even the biggest Asian-flights operated from Tampere airport.

The renovation of the Tampere-pirkkala airport took altogether about 5 months. In the spring and summer, the new taxiway was built, the runway was paved and the ramp has been expanded.

With these renovations, the airport is now big enough for even the Finnair A350 to operate from. A350 aircraft is used for Asian flights and now the question is, can we soon fly from Tampere to Asia?

 –It is possible in the future. The runway and the ramp are adequate to enable traffic growth. Nothing is certain yet, though. These renovations were done to enable bigger aircrafts and to be a reserve for other airports, Nurminen says.

There are 10-20 commercial flights from Tampere–Pirkkala daily. In addition, the airport is used for recreational, military and educational flights.

 –If we count all the different types of use together, we have up to 100 operations a day. In a year, there are 36 000 flights. That’s a massive amount, states Nurminen.