Helsinki Airport operator Finavia warns of serious passenger delays again on Sunday.
On Friday, some travellers for had to queue for an hour for security inspections.
Congestion is likely to be at its worst in the afternoon, particularly between 2 pm and 4 pm.
As of Sunday morning, the Terminal 1 security control was closed, so all passengers – including those flying Lufthansa, SAS and Norwegian – were asked to use Terminal 2 security control.
The delays are due to a staff shortage and a sharp rise in passenger numbers.
Aviation resurges on pent-up demand
Air transport is quickly returning to pre-pandemic levels in Europe this summer due to pent-up demand after the long hiatus.
According to the OAG aviation database, the world's airlines had more than 91 million seats on sale in the first week of June, the highest number since 2019.
Traffic is recovering fastest in Western Europe, where leisure travel in particular is growing.
Many airlines have not been prepared for such a rapid resurgence in traffic, leading to capacity shortages.
Meanwhile Russia's decision to ban nearly all foreign flights from its airspace in retaliation for Ukraine war-related sanctions is hampering operations by airlines that previously relied on overflights. These included Finnair, which has had to re-route its crucial Asian flights via the Persian Gulf, with added stopovers.
Finnair ends furloughs
Despite the return of passengers, many airliners are still projected to make losses this year, as the war is reducing the number of tourist groups in Europe and business travel has not returned to pre-Covid levels.
Finnair has recalled all previously furloughed personnel. Two Airbus A350 aircraft that previously plied Finnair's Asian routes and their crews have been leased to a German airline. It will use them for leisure flights to the United States.
At the same time, preparations are being made for the return of Asian passengers when travel restrictions are lifted there, according to Antti Tolvanen, Finnair's Senior Vice President, Network & Revenue Management.
"Demand in Japan and South Korea will return to previous levels very quickly. In China, we expect the restrictions to continue until next year. Singapore is currently strong in terms of demand and acts as a transit hub for Australian passengers, which is driving demand," he told Yle.
But because of Russia’s overflight ban, not all direct routes to Asia will return in the near future. In the future, those who plan to go to Japan in particular will have to prepare for a transfer in the Persian Gulf.
"Certainly, such transit traffic will increase because the distances will remain long, since virtually all airlines have to circle around Russian airspace. It doesn't make sense to fly directly to certain destinations," explained Tolvanen.
MEPs worried by emissions rise
EU lawmakers have joined climate groups in expressing concern about the renewed rise in climate-warming emissions from aviation.
Last week, the European Parliament voted for a series of draft climate protection laws that included a proposed revamp of the aviation sector.
In a surprise vote, lawmakers from across the political spectrum also blocked a proposed update to the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS), calling it too weak to meet the EU's 'Fit for 55' climate commitments.
The ETS requires airlines and other industries to buy and sell CO2 pollution permits within a cap that shrinks over time. On Wednesday the draft ETS law was sent back to the legislature's Environment Committee for a rewrite.
"Unfortunately, key sections of the 'Fit for 55' climate package on emissions trading, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Social Climate Fund are back in committee. Work is therefore continuing to adopt the whole climate package," wrote Finnish MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (SDP) said in a tweet.
