Vacations beyond Arctic Circle: Major airlines launching new routes to Northern Europe
Photo: Northern Lights in Tromsø, Norway (unsplash.com)
New flights to the Arctic region from various European cities are planned this year. Major airlines are adding routes to locations beyond the Arctic Circle.
Some flights to northern airports are being launched for the first time, indicating a new demand among tourists, according to skift.com.
Scandinavian countries are becoming more popular due to climate changes affecting both summer and winter vacations. Many tourists cannot withstand the extreme heat in the Mediterranean region, so they choose to spend their holidays in northern Europe. Winter warming also harms winter recreation, as many European ski resorts remain snowless.
New routes launching this year:
- Lufthansa: Frankfurt (Germany) - Rovaniemi (Finland) - starting November 30, twice a week. The airline already serves destinations in northern Finland: Oulu, Kittila, Ivalo, and Kuusamo, as well as Helsinki.
- British Airways: London Heathrow - Tromsø (Norway) - starting December 1, twice a week until March 27. This city beyond the Arctic Circle is known as the best location for observing the Northern Lights.
- Iberia: Madrid - Tromsø (Norway) - starting December 1, twice a week until March 2. The plan is to transport 9,000 passengers over three months. Flights to Rovaniemi are also being resumed - from November 1 to March 1.
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines is adding five new routes. This includes routes from Aarhus (Denmark) and London (Heathrow) to Scandinavian Mountains Airport in Sweden, from Copenhagen to Rovaniemi (Finland), Copenhagen to Kiruna (a city in northern Swedish Lapland), and London (Heathrow) to Tromsø.
- Finnair will increase the number of flights to popular regions. Specifically, there will be up to 63 flights per week to Rovaniemi (mostly on Wednesdays and weekends). At peak times on certain Saturdays, flights to Rovaniemi will operate every 30 minutes (known as the Santa Shuttle). In addition to regular flights from Helsinki to Lapland locations, a route from Rovaniemi to Tromsø will be launched - 6 days a week.
- Air France: Paris - Kiruna (Sweden) - starting December 21, weekly. In addition to this, routes to Rovaniemi and Kittila in Finland, and Tromsø and Narvik-Lofoten in Norway are already in operation.
Photo: Vacations in Northern Europe are becoming more popular (unsplash.com)
The Scandinavian region has now become a popular tourist destination even in the summer months. According to recent research, since the beginning of 2024, the number of overnight stays in Norway has increased by 18%, in Sweden by 12%, and in Denmark by 9%.
We reported on Ryanair launching new routes to popular locations, including in Spain, France, Germany, and Jordan.
We also mentioned which European countries have residents who are more satisfied with their lives. People tend to have a better quality of life in northern and western Europe.
