Kuopio Airport is an airport in Rissala, Siilinjärvi, Finland, about 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.
History 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. , it was one of only five profitable airports in Finland, 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 A unique airport “Lake” terminal was completed in March 2008 (at ). The terminal is situated 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
Statistics + Annual passenger statistics for Kuopio Airport 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 207,276 28,135 235,411 +3.6% 2018 213,856 31,826 245,682 +4.4% 2019 204,597 38,932 243,529 −0.9% 2020 52,734 4,865 57,599 −76.3% 2021 31,611 4,796 36,407 −36.8% 2022 111,031 15,052 126,083 +246.3% 2023 125,323 21,524 146,847 +16.5% 2024 109,996 22,268 132,264 −9.9% 2025 121,092 23,027 144,119 +9.0%
Finnish Air Force Kuopio Airport is also home of the Finnish Air Force's Karelian Air Command and the Fighter Squadron 31 (HävLLv 31).
Accidents and incidents On 3 October 1978, Douglas C-47A DO-10 of the Finnish Air Force crashed into Lake Juurusvesi when attempting to return to Kuopio Airport. The aircraft was on a military flight to Helsinki Airport when an engine failed shortly after take-off and the decision was made to return to Kuopio. 15 people died in the crash.
Ground transportation Means of transportOperatorRouteDestinationsNotes BusKuopio Public Transport40Market Square ()Every hour on weekdays TaxiSavon TaksidataAirport TaxiKuopioAccording to flight schedules
See also List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
References
External links
Kuopio Airport – Official website AIP Finland – Kuopio Airport
Accident history for KUO at Aviation Safety Network