Kuopio Airport (IATA: KUO, ICAO: EFKU) is an airport in Rissala, Siilinjärvi, Finland, about 14 kilometres (9 mi) north of Kuopio city centre. It is the fifth busiest airport in Finland, as measured by the number of passengers, approximately 235,000 in 2017.[4]

Kuopio Airport

Kuopion lentoasema
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OperatorFinavia
ServesKuopio, Finland
LocationRissala, Siilinjärvi, Finland
Elevation AMSL323 ft / 98 m
Coordinates63°00′31″N 027°47′40″E / 63.00861°N 27.79444°E / 63.00861; 27.79444
Map
KUO is located in Finland
KUO
KUO
Location within Finland
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
15/33 2,800 9,186 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers235,411[1]
Landings2,023[2]
Source: AIP Finland[3]
The new Air Traffic Control tower

History

edit

Kuopio Airport was completed in November 1939 and flight operations started in May 1940. It was used by the Luftwaffe during World War II (1942–43). During the Continuation War the runways were made from plywood. The first terminal building was opened in 1949 before a new one replaced it in 1971. In 2004, Kuopio Airport was chosen as the Airport of the Year in Finland.[5] As of 2006, Kuopio Airport was one of only five profitable airports in Finland,[6] thanks to shared use of the runways by the Karelian Air Command of the Finnish Air Force and civilian airlines. Kuopio had its first international scheduled route when AirBaltic operated direct flights to Riga in 2008–2011.

Lake terminal

edit

A unique airport “Lake” terminal was completed in March 2008 (at 63°00′35″N 27°47′1″E / 63.00972°N 27.78361°E / 63.00972; 27.78361). The terminal is situated 250 metres (820 ft) walking distance from the main airport terminal. It connects the airport to the Lake Saimaa region.

Lake Saimaa offers a waterway connection to the cities of the Finnish Lakeland: Imatra, Joensuu, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus. Vuoksi River flows from Saimaa to Lake Ladoga (Russia). Saimaa Canal connects Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland.

There is no scheduled daily boat line here, but tour operators can use the terminal.

Airlines and destinations

edit
 
Check-in at Kuopio Airport
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal charter: Rhodes[7]
Avion Express Seasonal charter: Chania[8]
Finnair Helsinki[9]
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya[10]
Pegasus Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya[11]
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Gran Canaria[12]

Statistics

edit
Annual passenger traffic at KUO airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger statistics for Kuopio Airport [13]
Year Domestic passengers International passengers Total passengers Change
2005 274,954 32,785 307,739 +6.5%  
2006 289,231 42,971 332,202 +7.9%  
2007 270,430 33,774 304,204 −8.4%  
2008 252,616 37,601 290,247 −4.6%  
2009 220,018 30,546 250,564 −13.7%  
2010 207,067 46,545 253,612 +1.2%  
2011 244,472 39,933 284,405 +12.1%  
2014 221,722 38,642 260,364 -0.3%  
2015 202,041 30,226 232,267 -10.8%  
2016 200,569 26,625 227,194 -2.2%  
2017[1] 207,276 28,135 235,411 +3.6%  

Finnish Air Force

edit

Kuopio Airport is also home of the Finnish Air Force's Karelian Air Command and the Fighter Squadron 31 (HävLLv 31).

Accidents and incidents

edit

Ground transportation

edit
Means of transport at Kuopio Airport
Means of transport Operator Route Destinations Website Notes
  Bus Kuopio Public Transport 40 Market Square (Finnish: Kauppatori) joukkoliikenne.kuopio.fi Archived 17 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Every hour on weekdays
  Taxi Savon Taksidata Airport Taxi Kuopio www.savontaksidata.fi Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine According to flight schedules

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Passengers 2017" (PDF). Finavia.
  2. ^ "Air Transport Landings 2017" (PDF). Finavia.
  3. ^ "EFKU Kuopio" (PDF). AIP Suomi / Finland. Finavia. 30 June 2011. pp. EFKU AD 2.1, 1–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Finavia's Air Traffic Statistics 2010" (PDF). Vantaa: Finavia. pp. 7, 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Kuopio is Airport of the Year for 2004". Vantaa: Civil Aviation Administration. 8 December 2004. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  6. ^ "Lentoasemista vain neljännes kannattavia". YLE Uutiset (in Finnish). Yleisradio Oy. 23 September 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  7. ^ "tui.fi".
  8. ^ "Detur.fi".
  9. ^ "JAL Expands Finnair Codeshare From late-Oct 2023". Aeroroutes.
  10. ^ "tui.fi".
  11. ^ "Detur.fi".
  12. ^ "Flights". tjareborg.fi.
  13. ^ "Traffic statistics – Passengers". Finavia. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  14. ^ "Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-1-DK DO-10 Kuopio Airport (KUO)". Aviation Safety Network. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
edit

  Media related to Kuopio Airport at Wikimedia Commons