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Nov 29, 2025

‘SnowHow’ 2025: Finavia Details New Tech to Keep Runways Open All Winter

‘SnowHow’ 2025: Finavia Details New Tech to Keep Runways Open All Winter
Finavia has unveiled its annual ‘SnowHow’ campaign, outlining the technologies and procedures that allow Finland’s 20 airports to remain operational in some of Europe’s harshest winter conditions. In a 28 November briefing the operator stressed that advance planning starts the moment the previous winter ends, with simulation-based roster models, new multi-tasking ploughs and upgraded infrared pavement sensors forming the backbone of this season’s strategy.

A key innovation is the deployment of semi-autonomous runway sweepers equipped with LIDAR and GPS, capable of clearing a 3,000-metre runway in under 11 minutes—two minutes faster than last year. Finavia says the faster turnarounds cut runway closure time by 18 percent, an important factor for hub-and-spoke carriers such as Finnair whose banks rely on precise sequencing.

‘SnowHow’ 2025: Finavia Details New Tech to Keep Runways Open All Winter


The airport group has also invested in predictive analytics: machine-learning models ingest data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and feed de-icing demand forecasts to apron managers’ tablets, allowing proactive assignment of trucks and glycol stock. Early trials at Helsinki-Vantaa last February reduced average de-icing wait times by eight minutes.

Finavia’s winter readiness is more than an operational talking point; it underpins Finland’s attractiveness to multinational firms that need year-round, time-definite air links for executives and high-value cargo. The operator urges travel and supply-chain managers to integrate its public-facing SnowHow dashboard—which publishes live runway status and de-icing queues—into their internal risk-management feeds.
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