Rovaniemi Airport in Finnish Lapland reopened to traffic late on Saturday evening after winter storm Hannes forced a six-hour suspension of flights, but airlines continued to cancel and delay rotations on Sunday as crews and aircraft were repositioned and safety checks completed.

The persistent disruptions kept the region’s tightly wound holiday schedules fragile at the height of Lapland’s Christmas travel rush, stranding some visitors in Santa’s hometown while others saw long-awaited Arctic holidays curtailed or rerouted.

More News:

Storm Hannes Hits Lapland’s Key Holiday Gateways

The powerful low-pressure system known as storm Hannes swept across northern Finland on Saturday, December 27, bringing strong crosswinds, blowing snow and sharply reduced visibility to Lapland’s three main tourism airports: Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo.

According to the Finnish airport operator Finavia, restrictions and suspensions of air traffic were introduced at all three airports from around 4 p.m. local time as conditions deteriorated rapidly.

At Kittilä Airport, which serves popular ski resorts and charter traffic from across Europe, the storm contributed to two runway-area incidents.

A commercial jet with around 150 people on board slid off a taxiway after landing and came to rest in deep snow. In a separate incident, a smaller aircraft struck a snowbank.

In both cases there were no injuries reported, but the disabled aircraft and recovery operations compounded delays for other services and underscored the severity of the weather.

Rovaniemi, internationally branded as the “official hometown of Santa Claus,” was among the hardest hit. The airport, a critical hub for festive-season package tours from the United Kingdom, central Europe and Asia, saw arrivals diverted and departures held as wind gusts and drifting snow pushed conditions beyond safe operating limits.

Finavia and air traffic control teams reassessed the situation throughout the evening before gradually reopening the airfield once visibility and wind profiles allowed.

Ivalo, the northernmost of the three Lapland gateways, also faced restrictions, with flights diverted or canceled during the peak of the storm.

While local teams are deeply experienced in Arctic operations, storm Hannes produced a combination of crosswinds and snow that temporarily overpowered even Lapland’s robust winter resilience.

Rovaniemi Reopens, But Flight Schedules Stay Fragile

Finavia reported that flight operations resumed at Kittilä at approximately 8 p.m., at Ivalo at about 9 p.m., and at Rovaniemi at around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday.

With runways once again open and snow-clearing units working through the night, air traffic on paper returned to normal. In practice, however, many Sunday schedules remained highly fragile as airlines grappled with aircraft and crews stranded out of position.

By Sunday morning, December 28, air traffic across Finavia’s Lapland airports was described as “gradually returning to normal,” with operators warning that individual flights could still face delays, retimings or last-minute cancellations into Monday.

Some airlines proceeded to cancel entire rotation pairs rather than risk knock-on delays spreading across their networks, particularly for longer-haul charter services that rely on tightly timed aircraft turns.

At Rovaniemi, this translated into a patchwork of operating and canceled flights on what should have been one of the busiest days of the holiday season.

Finnair and several European charter carriers scrubbed multiple rotations, prioritizing safety, crew duty limits and the need to methodically reposition jets that had diverted to alternate airports on Saturday.

Information screens showed irregular patterns of departures, with some flights operating several hours late and others disappearing outright from the board.

Operators stressed that even with the airport itself open, safe airline operations depended on more than just clearing the runway.

Aircraft that had performed challenging landings during the storm required additional inspections, and crews whose duty times had been stretched by diversions and holding patterns needed mandatory rest before flying again.

These factors extended the disruption beyond the period of the most intense weather and amplified the fragility of the Sunday schedule.

Airlines Balance Safety, Duty Limits and Passenger Pressure

Airlines operating into Lapland over the festive period typically run dense holiday schedules with limited slack in aircraft and crew availability.

When storm Hannes hit, aircraft that should have been turning around at Rovaniemi and Kittilä were instead diverted to Helsinki or even back to their points of origin, breaking carefully balanced rotations.

Rest rules for pilots and cabin crew then forced overnight stops or extended breaks, leaving gaps in Sunday’s planned rosters.

Finnair, the dominant carrier in the Finnish market, faced particular complexity as it juggled regular domestic and European services with high-demand seasonal flights carrying tourists to Lapland.

Charter operators bringing holidaymakers from the United Kingdom, Germany, France and other markets were similarly forced to make rapid decisions about which flights to operate, which to consolidate and which to cancel outright as the true impact of the storm became clear.

Industry sources said some airlines canceled more than a dozen rotations on Sunday alone while they worked through repositioning plans. Moving an aircraft back to Rovaniemi or Kittilä from an alternate airport requires alignment of available crews, ground handling and the receiving airport’s capacity.

Any continued gusty winds or sporadic snow showers, even if below the threshold for a full suspension, added further caution to the operational calculus.

For airlines, the priority remained safety. Finnish and European aviation regulations obligate carriers to respect strict duty-time rules and to ensure aircraft are not dispatched without appropriate inspections after operating in challenging conditions.

That left little room for improvisation, even as passengers eager to salvage their Lapland holidays sought rapid solutions.

Airline representatives urged travelers to monitor direct communications from carriers and warned that same-day rebooking options could be extremely limited while fleets were rebalanced.

Stranded Passengers and a Strained Holiday Tourism Economy

The timing of storm Hannes could scarcely have been more disruptive for Lapland’s tourism sector.

The days between Christmas and New Year are among the busiest of the year, with families flocking to Rovaniemi for Santa village visits, husky safaris, snowmobiling and the chance to see the northern lights.

Hotels, chalets and tour operators rely heavily on this short, intensive season, and many operate at or near full capacity.

As flights were suspended on Saturday and then thinned out on Sunday, hundreds of passengers were stranded at airports or in resort towns, some with hotel stays ending and outbound flights canceled, others waiting to begin trips that had been planned months in advance.

Local authorities and tourism boards worked with airlines and accommodation providers to find temporary lodging for travelers whose stays had to be extended by necessity rather than choice.

The pressures were particularly acute in Rovaniemi, where accommodation fills quickly during the winter peak.

Emergency housing solutions, including additional beds in guesthouses and lodges in nearby communities, were pressed into service to cope with tourists unable to leave and new arrivals delayed or diverted.

Shuttle buses and local transport companies coordinated with tour operators to adjust pickup times and itineraries as flight times shifted throughout the day.

For businesses, the immediate financial impact was mixed. Some hotels and restaurants benefited from extended stays by stranded guests, while others saw cancellations from visitors who never made it to Lapland.

Activity providers that depend on fixed timetables, such as reindeer farm visits or guided excursions, faced a flurry of last-minute changes as operators tried to reshuffle bookings into whatever time windows travelers ultimately had left.

How Robust Lapland Airports Reached Their Limits

Finavia’s Lapland network is widely regarded as one of the most experienced in the world in managing snow and cold weather. Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo collectively handle months of winter operations each year, often in deep snow and subzero temperatures, without major interruption.

Plow convoys, de-icing units and traction-measuring devices are part of everyday life, and crews are trained to keep runways open even during active snowfall.

Storm Hannes, however, delivered a combination of powerful crosswinds and drifting snow that created conditions beyond what is typically manageable for safe commercial flying.

While snow clearance kept pace with accumulation, the wind gusts made approaches and landings hazardous for certain aircraft types and weight configurations, particularly those arriving heavily loaded with holiday travelers and their baggage.

In this context, the temporary suspension of air traffic on Saturday at all three Lapland airports reflected the conservative safety culture embedded in Nordic aviation.

Officials emphasized that while the region is built to handle winter, there remains a threshold beyond which operations must pause. The incidents in Kittilä, where two aircraft ended up in snowbanks but without injuries, illustrated both the effectiveness of safety margins and the limits of human and mechanical control in extreme conditions.

Meteorologists noted that Hannes peaked over northern Finland late Saturday, with winds gradually easing into Sunday.

Yet even as conditions improved on the ground, the residual operational effects lingered in airline control centers and crew scheduling offices, manifesting as a second wave of disruption that passengers experienced long after the snow clouds had begun to clear.

What Travelers Need to Know for Ongoing and Future Flights

Authorities and airport operators advised passengers traveling to or from Lapland over the coming days to build extra flexibility into their plans.

With schedules still recovering, travelers were urged to check flight status frequently and rely on official airline channels and airport information boards rather than third-party platforms or static itinerary summaries.

Changes could occur at short notice as airlines slotted repositioning flights and adjusted departure times.

Under European passenger rights rules, severe weather is considered an extraordinary circumstance, meaning carriers are generally not obligated to pay financial compensation for cancellations and delays directly caused by the storm.

However, airlines still have a duty of care, including providing meals, refreshments and, when necessary, accommodation for passengers who are stranded overnight due to disruption.

Travelers were encouraged to keep receipts and document their interactions with airlines in case of later claims or requests for clarification.

For those yet to begin their Lapland holiday, travel agents recommended maintaining close contact with tour operators, who might be able to arrange alternative routings or rebook trips if specific flights into Rovaniemi, Kittilä or Ivalo were cut.

Some packages include contingency clauses allowing date changes when weather severely affects access to the region, though availability during the peak season remains tight.

Looking ahead, aviation authorities and airlines will review the response to storm Hannes, including communications, ground handling resilience and the handling of diverted flights.

While Lapland’s airports are already designed for harsh conditions, the storm’s widespread impact during such a critical travel period is likely to prompt further discussion on capacity buffers and contingency planning for future winters.

FAQ

Q1: Is Rovaniemi Airport currently open after storm Hannes?
Rovaniemi Airport reopened for flight operations at around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, December 27, and remained open on Sunday, December 28, but services were operating with delays and selected cancellations as airlines worked to reposition aircraft and crews.

Q2: Why are flights still being canceled even though the storm has passed?
Even after weather conditions improved, many aircraft and crews were out of position due to diversions and extended duty times during the storm. Safety inspections, mandatory crew rest and the need to rebalance airline networks led to ongoing cancellations and retimings on Sunday and potentially into Monday.

Q3: Which Lapland airports were affected by storm Hannes?
Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Ivalo, the three main Lapland airports operated by Finavia, all experienced significant disruptions. Air traffic at each airport was restricted or suspended from around 4 p.m. on Saturday, with operations resuming later that evening at different times.

Q4: Were there any injuries reported due to the storm-related incidents?
Finavia and local media reported no injuries from the two aircraft incidents at Kittilä Airport, where one commercial jet and a smaller plane ended up in snowbanks after landing attempts during the storm.

Q5: What rights do passengers have if their Lapland flight was canceled?
Under European regulations, passengers affected by cancellations due to severe weather are generally not entitled to monetary compensation, as the situation is considered extraordinary. However, airlines must still provide duty of care, which can include meals, refreshments and accommodation when travelers are stranded.

Q6: How long are the disruptions expected to last at Rovaniemi and other Lapland airports?
Finavia indicated that air traffic at Lapland airports is gradually returning to normal, but individual delays and cancellations could continue through Sunday, December 28, and into Monday as airlines complete inspections and reposition aircraft and crews.

Q7: What should travelers do if they are scheduled to fly to Lapland in the coming days?
Passengers should regularly check their flight status through official airline channels, sign up for alerts where possible and stay in contact with tour operators or travel agents. Building additional time into itineraries and being prepared for possible changes will help mitigate the impact of any residual disruption.

Q8: Are alternative routes available if flights into Rovaniemi are disrupted?
In some cases, airlines or tour operators may reroute passengers via Helsinki or to other Lapland airports such as Kittilä or Ivalo, followed by ground transfers. Availability depends on aircraft capacity and weather, so alternatives are arranged on a case-by-case basis.

Q9: How well equipped are Lapland airports to handle winter weather in general?
Lapland airports are among the most experienced in Europe in operating in snow and ice, with extensive snow-clearing equipment, de-icing facilities and specialized procedures. Storm Hannes was exceptional because of its intensity and strong crosswinds, which briefly pushed conditions beyond normal operational limits.

Q10: Will this storm affect future Christmas and New Year travel to Lapland?
While storm Hannes has caused significant short-term disruption, there is no indication that it will have a lasting impact on Lapland’s appeal as a winter destination. Authorities and airlines are likely to review lessons learned to further strengthen contingency planning for future peak seasons.