 The home base of Tunturi-Ilmailijat is Ivalo Airport, which belongs to the network of 22 airports operated by Finavia. Ivalo Airport is the northernmost airport and among the five busiest airports in Finland by passengers per year. In 2022 number of passengers in Ivalo increased by 79,1% compared to year 2021. In 2022 there were 197,987 passengers travelling through the airport and in year only 110,520 passengers.
The biggest operator in Ivalo is Finnair, which flies more than once a day throughout the year. In winter time Lufthansa and Transavia fly a couple of flights in a week and during the Christmas season the airport is populated by various British airlines (eg. easyJet, Jet2 and TUI). Photos of the aircraft that have visited Ivalo can be seen here (The link will take you to flyFinland.fi -site).
History of Ivalo Airport
The airport was built in 1943 by German soldiers during the World War II. They however destroyed the airport completely when withdrawing from Lapland in 1945. In 1950 the airport was rebuilt and Aero (now Finnair) began regular traffic between Rovaniemi and Ivalo in 1955. In the 1970's the airport was expanded due to increased number of passengers and in 1975 a regular year-round route between Helsinki and Ivalo began.
In 1981 the runway was extended from 2,000 meters to 2,500 meters. Earlier there was also a second runway at Ivalo Airport, 1,720 meters long and 45 meters wide RWY 08/26. This runway, however, was permanently closed on the 31st July 2008. Nowadays a part of the closed runway serves as a taxiway Echo. In 1994 the first terminal area expansion was completed and another expansion was completed in 1999 along with the new control tower. The third terminal area expansion was completed in November 2015 and therefore the terminal building doubled its size. In 2018 new aircraft stands were built, when the number of stands increased from four to nine. Again, the terminal building expanded in 2019, when the new baggage claim hall was built.
Ivalo Airport on the map
Ivalo Airport is located in Törmänen, 11 kilometers southwest from Ivalo and 25 kilometers north of Saariselkä ski resort. The address is Ivalo Airport, Lentokentäntie 290, FI-99800 IVALO.
Underneath are some useful information for foreign pilots arriving in Ivalo, such as phonenumbers for Ivalo taxis, contact details for car rental companies and some accommodation options.
In case you arrive in Ivalo by own airplane and you need a ride from the airport, you can instruct the taxi driver to pick you up from the gate of A-Katsastus car inspection station. A taxi to the airport can be called from the phonenumber +358 100 87888 (Ivalon Taksit) or from the phonenumber +358 50 5146585 (Ivalo taxiservice). There is no local bus service in Ivalo, but Eskelisen Lapin Linjat runs airport service between Ivalo Airport and Saariselkä ski resort following the airlines' flight schedules.
Four car rental companies operate at Ivalo Airport:
There are two hotels in Ivalo village, Hotel Ivalo and Hotel Kultahippu. From Saariselkä ski resort you can find dozens of accommodation options, which can be searched through Saariselkä Booking's website, for example. Those who are travelling Inari direction can accommodate to Wilderness Hotel Juutua or Hotel Inari. There is also a small pier for seaplanes near Hotel Inari.
Spotting Guide for photographers
Here is a small spotting guide with example photos for aviation enthusiasts and photographers to take some photos of arriving and departing aircraft at Ivalo airport. Some photo spots are usable all around the year, some are not. All of the marked spots on the map are located by the runways around the airport, but there might be a chance to take some photos in the terminal area too.
SPOT # |
RWY 22 arrivals and departures |
| Location |
From Lentokentäntie (road number 9691) turn to Korkiavaarantie and drive sand road approximately 1,4 kms until you see approach lights. When you reach the lights you can see a small intersection where you should turn left and continue forward. In a little while you reach the airport fence and the "parking place". The first photo spot is located on the top of the hill around 300 meters to the left from the road. In summer you can drive almost up to the hill but in winter you have to leave your car next to the fence and trek in snow blanket to the hill. Or more convenient, use snowshoes. |
| What |
Aircraft landing on RWY 22 and departing from RWY 22. There is a possibility to take touchdown-photos from landing aircraft and face-to-face shots of departing aircraft. |
| Time |
From early spring to late autumn until 2PM, when the light becomes backlight. During the polar night you can have great photos from 11AM to 1PM if the sky is clear. |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders are not needed in this spot. If you don't have car and you are by foot, the distance from the airport is around 3 kms. There is no sidewalk on the road, so be careful with the traffic! |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
SPOT # |
RWY 22 arrivals and departures |
| Location |
This spot is located a couple of hundered meters from the spot #1 uphill towards terminal and small cabin on the top of the hill. |
| What |
Aircraft landing on RWY 22 and departing from RWY 22. There is a possibility to take touchdown-photos from landing aircraft and face-to-face / line-up shots of departing aircraft. You can have photos with aircarft wings fully visible and overview of the apron, too. |
| Time |
From early spring to late autumn until 2PM, when the light becomes backlight. During the polar night you can have great photos from 11AM to 1PM if the sky is clear. |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders are not needed in this spot. If you don't have car and you are by foot, the distance from the airport is around 3 kms. There is no sidewalk on the road, so be careful with the traffic! In the mid-winter, you may have to paddle in the deep snow to reach this spot. |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
SPOT # |
RWY 22 arrivals and departures |
| Location |
Located opposite to the spot #1 a couple of hundred meters forwards from the gate, by the sand road on the top of the big pile of rock (or alternatively next to the fence). |
| What |
Aircraft arriving to and departing from RWY 22. |
| Time |
From spring to late autumn from 4PM to eve. During summers even in the middle of the night if there are charter flights coming. During winters impossible to take photos in this spot because of the darkness. If you climb to the pile of rock, beware of rolling stones! (not the band) |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders may needed if you are next to the fence. |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
SPOT # |
RWY 04 arrivals / RWY 22 departures |
| Location |
From Nelostie (E75) turn to Tolosentie and drive approximately 4,2 kms until you reach high treeless hill. Spot #4 is located on the top of the hill. There is a small road extension where you can leave your car. If you are coming from airport direction, you have to turn to a road whose intersection has a black signpost saying "Vesilentosatama" and "Huhtamella". Drive this road about 1,3 kms and then turn right to Tolosentie. From this intersection itˇs approximately 2,5 kms to the spot #4. |
| What |
Aircraft arriving to RWY 04 and departing from RWY 22. |
| Time |
From early spring to late autumn until 2PM, when the light becomes backlight. During the polar night you can have great photos from 11AM to 1PM if the sky is clear. |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders are not needed in this spot. In winter there could be a lot of snow, so the snow shoes are necessary to reach the top of the hill. |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
SPOT # |
RWY 04 arrivals / RWY 22 departures |
| Location |
This spot is located pretty much opposite to the spot #4. You can reach this spot by continuing 700 meters from the parking place of the spot #4 and then turning right to a sand road. There is a reindeer fence, but you can open it and drive through it (remember to closet the gate!) and reach the spot after 1 km of driving. |
| What |
Aircraft arriving to RWY 04 and departing from RWY 22. |
| Time |
From spring to late autumn from 4PM to eve. During summers even in the middle of the night if there are charter flights coming. During winters impossible to take photos in this spot because of the darkness. |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders are not needed in this spot, because the eyes in the fence are big. There are no obstacles in the spot, because the trees have been cut off. |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
SPOT # |
RWY 04 arrivals and departures / RWY 22 arrivals and departures |
| Location |
This spot is located about 800 meters forwards from the previous spot. If the road is in poor condition or there are obstacles you might need to detour. Then the distance is half of a kilometer more. The spot #6 is around the threshold of the former RWY 08/26. |
| What |
Aircraft arriving to and departing from RWYs 04 and 22. |
| Time |
From spring to late autumn from 4PM to eve. During summers even in the middle of the night if there are charter flights coming. During winters impossible to take photos in this spot because of the darkness. |
| Miscellaneous |
Ladders are not needed in this spot, because the eyes in the fence are big. There are no obstacles in the spot, because the trees have been cut off. |
| Focal length |
70-300 mm. |
 |
 Pilots' area - Briefing
There are important and useful information for the pilots collected below. From the list below you can find for example current weather and weather forecasts and charts related to Ivalo Airport (such as aerodrome chart, aerodrome obstacle chart, instrument and visual approach charts and landing chart). The links lead to Finavia's eAIP. The next chart gives links to Finavia's AIS publications and electronic flight plan form and to the aviation weather service of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Ivalo Airport information
| Runways: |
RWY 04/22 (2,499 x 45 m) |
 |
| Location: |
68° 36' 39" N | 27° 24' 50" E (ARP-point) |
| ELEV: |
482 ft |
| TWR: |
118.000 MHz |
| ATIS: |
123.200 MHz, tel. +358 16 675 8604 |
| Fuel: |
JET A-1 (prices) |
| JET A-1 tel. +358 400 458 313, Refuelling requests during OPR HR of TWR/AFIS |
Charts related to Ivalo Airport
AIS publications, flight plan form and aviation weather
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