More news on this day
TUI has strengthened its growing Arctic holiday network with the official naming of a new Boeing 737-8 aircraft “Kuusamo” and capacity to fly more than 60,000 winter travelers into Northern Finland’s snowbound landscapes this season.
New “Kuusamo” Aircraft Underscores Northern Finland Focus
The freshly named Boeing 737-8 “Kuusamo” is the latest visible symbol of TUI’s long-term bet on Northern Finland as a core pillar of its winter strategy. The aircraft, part of TUI’s modern medium-haul fleet, was welcomed at Kuusamo Airport during a naming ceremony attended by local tourism representatives, partners and officials. With its arrival, TUI adds another dedicated workhorse to the routes that connect key European markets directly with the Arctic.
Kuusamo becomes the fourth TUI Boeing 737-8 named after a Finnish destination, cementing the region’s profile inside the airline’s network and brand. The aircraft will rotate across high-demand winter routes into Northern Finland, including Lapland gateways, supporting a schedule built around peak travel weeks from December through March. For TUI, associating aircraft identities with partner destinations is both a commercial and symbolic move, turning each jet into a flying advertisement for Arctic holidays.
The 737-8 type, part of the re-engined Boeing 737 family, offers improved fuel efficiency compared with older aircraft in the same segment. That efficiency, combined with high-density seating suitable for charter and package holiday operations, enables TUI to offer competitive fares while increasing total seat capacity to remote northern airports where demand is intensely seasonal.
By giving the aircraft a destination name rather than a numeric tail identity alone, TUI is also building an emotional connection with customers. Holidaymakers arriving in Finland on an aircraft called “Kuusamo” start their Arctic experience before they even step onto the snowy apron, reinforcing TUI’s narrative that these flights are gateways to specific landscapes and communities rather than generic point-to-point services.
Over 60,000 Winter Holidaymakers Head North
For the current winter season, TUI expects more than 60,000 customers to fly with the group into Northern Finland, including Lapland and Arctic Lakeland. This represents one of the company’s strongest Arctic programs to date and reflects persistent demand for snow-based experiences even as other parts of the tourism market cool or shift. The majority of these travelers are expected to arrive from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, three of TUI’s largest source markets for winter-sun and winter-snow holidays.
Lapland continues to sit among TUI’s most popular winter destinations, thanks to its combination of family-friendly Santa-themed trips, northern lights hunting, and increasingly sophisticated ski and adventure offerings. The company’s packages typically bundle flights, accommodation, transfers and guided activities such as husky safaris, reindeer encounters and snowmobiling, reducing friction for first-time Arctic visitors who might otherwise be daunted by the logistics of a sub-zero holiday.
The scale of TUI’s operation is especially visible at smaller regional airports like Kuusamo, Kittilä, Rovaniemi and Ivalo, where seasonal spikes in charter traffic transform quiet terminals into bustling gateways. For local businesses, the influx of more than 60,000 visitors in a single winter from one major tour operator represents a critical revenue stream. Hoteliers, activity providers and restaurants align staffing and investment around these peak months, knowing that occupancy levels and cash flow depend heavily on reliable airlift.
Finland’s position as both a source market and a destination within TUI’s portfolio further supports the numbers. Finnish residents travel out on TUI holidays, while their own northern regions simultaneously attract visitors in. This dual role allows the company to fine-tune capacity across its airlines and tour brands, shifting aircraft and crews between Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Arctic rotations as seasonal demand fluctuates.
Local Partners Celebrate Kuusamo’s Growing Visibility
The naming ceremony for “Kuusamo” highlighted the deepening ties between TUI and the Kuusamo region. Local officials emphasized that the tour operator has become one of the area’s most important partners, bringing sustained growth in international overnight stays. In the most recent full year, stays by foreign visitors in Kuusamo rose by double digits, with international guests accounting for a dominant share of total nights during the peak December period.
For Kuusamo’s leaders, having an aircraft carry the town’s name across Europe is more than a branding flourish. It signals that the area has joined the shortlist of Arctic destinations with strong recognition among tour operators, sitting alongside better-known Lapland hubs such as Rovaniemi and Kittilä. That recognition tends to attract further investment, both from global travel groups and from local entrepreneurs who see long-term potential in winter tourism.
The airport operator and tourism stakeholders in Northern Finland have spent years working with airlines and travel companies to secure more direct capacity. They argue that reliable, frequent flights are a prerequisite for building a sustainable visitor economy in regions where winter road and rail journeys are long and often dependent on weather. TUI’s continued commitment and the naming of “Kuusamo” are viewed locally as a tangible reward for that effort.
The ceremonial arrival of the jet, greeted by partners, reindeer and bundled-up guests against a backdrop of snow-covered forest, also delivered valuable media images. Such scenes feed into national and international coverage of Finnish winter travel, which in turn supports the broader Arctic brand that Northern Finland is cultivating across markets from Western Europe to Asia.
Arctic Network Expansion Across Finland and the Wider Region
The strengthening of TUI’s Arctic network is part of a wider trend in Northern European aviation, with airlines stepping up capacity into Lapland to capture growing interest in so-called “coolcation” travel. Finnish airport operator Finavia has reported record numbers of direct winter routes into Lapland in recent seasons, underpinned by both scheduled carriers and charter operators. TUI is among the most visible of the latter group, operating flights under its own airlines as well as in cooperation with local partners.
Beyond Kuusamo, TUI’s Northern Finland presence includes established operations into Kittilä, Rovaniemi and Ivalo, which together form the backbone of its Santa, ski and northern lights programs. In parallel, the group is supporting the emergence of Arctic Lakeland, around destinations such as Kajaani and Vuokatti, as a complementary offer to classic Lapland trips. Charter services from Amsterdam to Kajaani and onwards to Kuusamo have been confirmed for winter 2026, indicating that Dutch demand for Finnish winter experiences remains robust.
The growth in TUI’s Arctic activities coincides with similar expansions from regional competitors, including national carrier Finnair, which has announced record winter schedules to key Lapland airports. For travelers, this competition translates into more options on dates, departure airports and price points. For Finnish tourism authorities, the combined effect is a significant strengthening of connectivity that supports both peak-season holiday traffic and the longer-term goal of year-round visitation.
Winter-specific charter operations are also being supplemented by short, intensive products such as day trips from multiple UK airports to Lapland, giving families the chance to experience a concentrated burst of Arctic activities without committing to a full week abroad. While such products have sparked environmental debate, their popularity underscores just how powerful the draw of northern snow and Santa-themed experiences has become in European source markets.
What “Kuusamo” Means for TUI’s Airline Strategy
Naming a Boeing 737-8 after Kuusamo sits neatly within TUI’s broader airline strategy, which hinges on harmonizing its medium-haul fleet while building stronger narratives around destinations. By aligning aircraft names with key resort areas, the group reinforces relationships with local stakeholders, who see their home regions prominently represented across TUI’s marketing and operational footprint.
The aircraft itself reflects TUI’s efforts to modernize and standardize its fleet for efficiency. Jets like the 737-8 allow the company to serve long, thin leisure routes from Western Europe to Northern Finland with a balance of range and capacity. Their performance characteristics are well suited to operating in winter conditions and to the relatively long sectors involved in connecting major UK or Benelux airports with the Arctic Circle.
From a commercial standpoint, these aircraft support flexible deployment. A jet branded “Kuusamo” may fly a rotation to another Finnish Lapland airport on one day and then operate a sun-seeking service to the Canary Islands on another, depending on demand and scheduling. The name remains a constant marketing touchpoint, whereas the underlying network can be adjusted quickly in response to booking trends and macroeconomic shifts.
TUI executives have framed the naming initiative as part of a broader philosophy in which aircraft act as ambassadors for destinations. Each take-off and landing, they argue, carries not only passengers but also the story of the places whose names are painted on the fuselage. For Kuusamo and other northern communities, that story is one of snow, forests, silence and star-filled skies that are now more easily accessible to tens of thousands of European travelers.
Economic Ripples for Northern Communities
The anticipated 60,000-plus TUI winter visitors to Northern Finland are not just statistics on a route-planning spreadsheet. They represent hotel nights, restaurant bookings, guiding fees and seasonal jobs in remote regions where alternative industries may be limited. In Kuusamo, tourism has become a cornerstone of the local economy, with international guests a particularly valuable segment due to longer stays and higher average spend.
Local authorities report that the share of international overnights has grown sharply, with foreign guests now making up a strong majority of stays in the critical early winter period. This shift reflects both the success of targeted marketing campaigns abroad and the practical impact of increased air connectivity. When direct charter flights exist from source markets such as the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, tour operators can package attractive offers that are easy to book and budget for.
For small and medium-sized enterprises across Northern Finland, TUI’s expansion offers a measure of predictability that is vital when deciding whether to invest in new cabins, equipment or year-round staff. Operators of husky farms, reindeer sleigh experiences and ski schools can scale their capacity more confidently when forward bookings from major tour partners point to solid demand across multiple seasons. The arrival of a named aircraft like “Kuusamo” further suggests that the region will remain high on TUI’s priority list for years to come.
However, the economic benefits also come with responsibilities. Local tourism boards are under pressure to ensure that rapid growth does not undermine the very qualities that visitors seek, such as unspoiled nature and authentic cultural encounters. Managing visitor flows, protecting fragile Arctic ecosystems and safeguarding the welfare of animals used in tourism are now firmly on the agenda for regional planners.
Balancing Growth With Environmental Responsibility
The expansion of air travel into the Arctic inevitably raises environmental questions, particularly at a time when climate change is already reshaping snowfall patterns and winter reliability. TUI, like other major tour operators, faces scrutiny over the carbon impact of flying tens of thousands of passengers into sensitive northern regions each year. Critics argue that short, intensive trips based around a single day of activities are especially hard to square with long-term climate goals.
In response, TUI highlights investments in newer, more efficient aircraft types such as the Boeing 737-8, which burn less fuel per seat than older jets and therefore reduce emissions intensity on key routes. The company also promotes broader sustainability initiatives across its hotels, cruises and destination operations, while supporting projects through its charitable foundation that aim to protect local environments and communities in tourism hotspots.
In Finland, public and private stakeholders are exploring ways to encourage longer stays and more diversified travel patterns that make better use of each flight’s emissions. By extending the season beyond the busiest Christmas and New Year weeks and attracting visitors interested in quieter early spring or autumn experiences, destinations can spread both environmental and economic impacts more evenly across the calendar.
Nevertheless, the debate around air access to Lapland is unlikely to fade. For now, rising bookings suggest that consumer appetite for Arctic experiences remains resilient, even as wider conversations about sustainable travel gather momentum. TUI’s strengthened Arctic network, crowned by the new “Kuusamo” aircraft, sits squarely at the intersection of these competing pressures.
Lapland’s Outlook as a Flagship Winter Destination
Looking ahead, the combination of TUI’s expanded capacity, additional routes from rival airlines and ongoing investment in accommodation and activities positions Lapland and Northern Finland firmly among Europe’s flagship winter destinations. The region is competing not only with Alpine ski resorts but also with city-break markets that are enhancing their own festive and winter offerings.
What sets Lapland apart is the breadth of its experiences. Families can meet Santa in snowbound forests, couples can chase the aurora borealis, and adventure-seekers can combine off-piste skiing with wilderness excursions deep into national parks. TUI’s programming across these segments allows it to appeal simultaneously to first-time visitors seeking a once-in-a-lifetime Christmas trip and to repeat guests who return for more specialized, off-the-beaten-path itineraries.
The arrival of “Kuusamo” into the TUI fleet, and the company’s forecast of more than 60,000 winter passengers heading north, underline the scale of confidence in this vision. As aircraft bearing the names of Finnish destinations crisscross Europe, they carry not just tourists but also a message that the Arctic is open, connected and ready to welcome visitors looking for authentic winter experiences.
For Northern Finland, the challenge now is to ensure that this growth remains both resilient and responsible. If that balance can be achieved, the new “Kuusamo” and its sister aircraft may come to be seen as milestones in the region’s evolution from remote frontier to mainstream, yet still magical, winter holiday heartland.